Banana thrown at Brazilian players in soccer friendly in Paris
Brazil has endured international bans since the late 1940s for playing association football outside the nation’s borders.
However, when a game of football between a Brazil-based club and an independent team was postponed because of inclement weather, the two sides returned in mid-November, hoping to play on the pitch where Brazil played its first match as a World Cup host: Paris Saint-Germain.
The match, which took place on November 15 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Pelé, was supposed to be a friendly.
However, the match was marred with trouble when the ball hit the back of the net in the 10th minute and it was a goal that Brazil’s national anthem was going to be sung in. A penalty was awarded three minutes later when one of the players in the Brazilian team was seen aiming towards the goal.
A police officer was injured in the incident and at least one of the Brazilian players sustained a concussion.
According to French newspaper Le Parisien, the referee who ran out the game told his team immediately after the incident that no foul was committed.
The newspaper quotes the official as saying: “The goal was not taken and, as the second was not even awarded, the goal was nullified.”
In the end, an independent team from South America defeated an independent team from Europe for the second time in a row.
Brazilian sports reporter João Valtinha, who was in the stadium, said: ”We have heard that many Brazilians are supporting their team in the fight to win the World Cup in Russia and that is why we have decided to send our team here to the city of Paris, to a city where football was born.
“If we win this match, our people will have something to cheer for. It would be much better if we didn’t win the match.”
Meanwhile, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) has appealed to the public on Facebook to donate money for the team to continue playing the match. The team’s players have also posted on Twitter about their feelings in the aftermath of the incident.