Some fans take relegation well, with a shrug of the shoulders or a few tears. Not in South America though, where relegation can be greeted with a carnival of violence.

This was the case in Brazil on Sunday, when Coritiba kind of ‘welcomed’ or 'unwelcomed' Fluminense to the Estadio Couto Pereira. The teams drew 1-1, a result that was good enough to save the relegation-threatened visitors but – you guessed it – also consign Coritiba to the second tier of Brazilian football.


So you can understand why Coritiba’s fans were a teensy bit upset with the way things worked out, especially as two Rio-based clubs – Botafago and Fluminense – survived. And by a little bit upset, I mean this:






That’s right, a good old-fashioned South American pitch invasion, which left one policeman unconscious, needing to be airlifted from the stadium by helicopter.

When the dust settles, it will be interesting to see what punishment is meted out to Coritiba for its fans despicable behaviour. In England, this sort of thing might see a club being demoted two divisions, rather than one, but mental pitch invasions seem to be rather more the norm in Brazil.


At the other end of the table, it’s only fair I mention new champions Flamengo, who won their first title in 17 years after a 2-1 win over Gremio. Congrats. Btw, Gremio’s fans will be delighted to have lost that game, as it meant bitter rivals Internacional missed out on the title.


Although this is a very serious situation, there is still time to laugh in many parts of this video so please don't be ashamed to do so.