Bloody riots erupted between rival soccer fans in Brazil in a savage battle that left multiple people seriously injured, including a critically-hurt man who had to be air-lifted off the field.
A Brazilian league game between Vasco da Gama and Atletico Paranaense turned into an uncontrollable free-for-all in the stands when opposing groups rushed each other in an all-out assault where people punched, kicked and stomped each other while TV cameras showed all the brutality unfold. With the violence quickly spiraling out of control, police fired rubber bullets into the crowd, as shocked players and coaches pleaded in vain for the rioters to stop fighting.
Ironically, Sunday’s game was moved to a neutral stadium in the southern city of Joinville after Paranaense’s home field in Curitiba was ruled out as a venue due to fan violence.
“This is deplorable,” Vasco da Gama coach Adilson Batista said, according to The Associated Press. “It’s sad to see images like these just before the World Cup in our country. I’m shocked, this is not sport.”
The ugly scene turned completely surreal when a police helicopter landed on the field to transport a critically-injured man to a local hospital.
Soccer-related violence has reached epidemic proportions in Brazil, which is set to host the 2014 World Cup over the summer despite growing security fears.
Earlier this year, a referee in an amateur game was decapitated after he stabbed a player to death mid-game, with enraged fans leaving his head on a stake for good measure. In Oct., former player Joao Rodrigo Silva Santos was kidnapped in Rio de Janeiro by a group of drug traffickers who reportedly left his severed head on his wife’s doorstep.
Sunday’s incidents are the latest black eye for a country that looks increasingly ill-equipped to guarantee the safety of millions of visitors who will flock to Brazil just over seven months from now for the world’s biggest sporting event.
“This is very sad, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Atletico Paranaense midfielder Everton told the AP. “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.”
Teammate Luiz Alberto broke out in tears while watching the violence unfold before his eyes. “There is going to be a World Cup in Brazil, the whole world is going to see this… This is inhumane.”
The game was restarted after an hour-long delay, and Vasco and Paranaense played to a 2-2 tie.
