Last Saturday (9), a Bolsonaro federal criminal police officer felt free to invade a PT municipal guard's birthday party and shoot him dead in Foz do Iguaçu. Last Wednesday (13), a Santos fan felt free to invade the Vila Belmiro lawn and apply a flying ball to the Corinthians goalkeeper Cássio, in Santos. These are, of course, cases of very different gravity, with different repercussions. But they are not disconnected episodes, point out researchers interviewed by Folha about the resurgence of violence in stadiums in Brazil. Incidents have been reported since the beginning of the season - even in a youth match, in which there was a field invasion and a knife was found on the lawn - but they seem to have increased in recent weeks. Santos' problem was not even the only one on Wednesday.
"We cannot think of violence in football as disconnected from Brazilian society. We live in an increasingly violent society, both on the part of the social dynamics and on the part of the police authorities, who should ensure the safety of citizens", summarizes Flávio de Campos, coordinator Ludens (Interdisciplinary Center for Studies on Soccer and Playful Modalities) at USP (University of São Paulo). "In the last few weeks, we have experienced regrettable episodes of violence. I will remember two. The murder of the boy, a motorcyclist, in Sergipe, in a gas chamber inside a Federal Police vehicle, police officers killing a poor person simply for the perversity of killing. And, now, the murder of the PT militant, at his birthday party. Violence is widespread in society," adds the researcher.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon