September 20 – In the latest public incident to intensify the spotlight on Flamengo and its directors, the club’s vice-president Marcos Braz was involved in an altercation with fans in a Rio de Janeiro shopping mall.
The version of events at Barra Shopping, a big mall in Barra da Tijuca, however, differs, depending on who recounts it. “I was with three girls and was buying a gift for my daughter,” Braz told Brazilian media. “And the guy started verbally attacking me. Absurd.”
“I saw him inside the store,” explained the Flamengo fan. “I just shouted for him to get out of Flamengo. Then I turned my back and walked away. When I saw him, he ran after me. He and his security guard attacked me. And he bit me too.”
Members of the Jovem Torcida, a fan group, have released a video expressing their growing discontent with the current position of the club, struggling on the pitch under the command of manager Jorge Sampaoli and invoking criticism over high ticket prices for the Copa do Brazil final.
In the video, a fan says: “Aren’t you going to take action? The guys walking on the field. Sampaoli? Come on, Marcos Braz, take this shit seriously. What you’re doing is messing with us. 26 million reais raised for what? What you are doing is bullshit. We go to São Paulo without anything, without any tickets, we love Flamengo. We have to tell Sampaoli to put his foot down, Gabigol as well. This is just an idea so things don’t get worse.”
Braz was taken by the police for questioning. The fan alleged that he had to go to the hospital to get treatment for his wounds.
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