Proving the unrest among the fans for upcoming world cup in Brazil, another incident of violence inside the stadium came into highlight when supporters from Atletico Paranaense and Vasco da Gama collided with each other. Initially, it was just a regular spat within two groups, but gradually; it spread everywhere in the stadium and Police had to intervene to control the mob. Even, rubber bullets were used by security personnel to segregate the crowd. It was just a domestic league match and spat became so extensive and disgraceful that one of the injured had to be lifted via an air ambulance to take into the nearby hospital. Besides, three more supporters were hospitalized later: one of them discharged after first aid while other two are still in serious condition. The match between two teams, who are fighting for their survival and known for their violent followers, was a crucial one coz on one hand Atletico Paranaense was playing to secure a place in Copa Libertadores while Vasco da Gama was just trying to avoid relegation.
When video images were shown, everyone shocked to see how players were yelling over the fans to stop the fight; perhaps some players also sat down keeping their hands over their heads watching a bloody affair in front of them. Apart from that many fans were running here and there to find a safe place including some young women, but unfortunately, there was no secure place for trapped fans. Luiz Alberto, Atletico Paranaense defender, was among the players who watched and tried to control the mob, said, “We tried to tell the fans to stop because things would only get worse. We looked at the stands and there were no cops. There was nobody there to stop the fighting. I’m playing for 20 years and I’ve never seen anything like this in person. We will have a World Cup in our country and we know these images will be shown everywhere.”
Actually, Brazilians are known for their diehard addiction to the game and it is like a day-to-day event to see some fans or supporters are fighting after seeing their teams losing a game. In fact, if we remember correctly, a referee was beheaded by fans in a local level soccer match off late. Paranaense further added, “This is very sad, I’ve never seen anything like this. One of the fans was alone on the ground and he was being hit for about 10 minutes without anybody doing anything. They wouldn’t stop hitting him.”