Rio de Janeiro: Less than 40 days before the start of the World Cup, Brazilian soccer is grappling with another act of fan violence that left a man dead after being hit by a toilet bowl allegedly hurled by rival supporters.
Authorities say the next two matches at the Estadio do Arruda in Recife will be played without supporters, and fans of second-tier Santa Cruz are banned from all stadiums until the individual responsible for the death of 26-year-old Paulo Ricardo Gomes da Silva is identified. Silva was struck outside the stadium after fans ripped up toilet bowls and threw them from the top deck after a match between Santa Cruz and Parana on Friday.
The incident is the latest violent act in Brazilian soccer. Supporters of the country’s richest team, Corinthians, in February broke into a training centre to attack players after they played poorly. In December last year, a match in the top division between Atletico Paranaense and Vasco da Gama was suspended to allow a helicopter to land on the field and airlift a man who had been beaten unconscious. Forty people were detained last weekend after violence flared outside a stadium newly built for the World Cup in Natal.
“Violence in stadiums must be strictly curbed by police and criminals should be investigated and prosecuted,” Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff said in a posting on Twitter. “Football stadiums are the scene of joy and passion. We must all unite for peace in stadiums.”
The monthlong World Cup kicks off on June 12 in Sao Paulo when host Brazil meets Croatia. The Arruda stadium isn’t being used for the tournament.
