Let’s hope smh.com.au sports writer Dominic Bossi is right: the shotgun aimed at Arsenal de Sarandi football players was loaded with “pellets.” As for the idea that perhaps one shouldn’t point a long gun at a soccer player, generally speaking, the Brazilian po-po have no regrets. In fact, the top cop reckons his officer acted with restraint. You know; given the circumstances. “It was criminal conduct, out of place at a football match,” Minas Gerais police lieutenant Colonel Cicero told Globo internet portal. “They could be arrested.” I wonder if he had any money on the game . . .
I’m not a sports fan. I accept my shortcomings. But it’s hard for me to get into the level of emotions that seem to be associated with soccer. No pun intended, but it’s completly foreign to me.
What about the riots that follow college basketball games? It isn’t just futball that fires up hooliganism.
DHS trainees?
Get off my lawn…er football pitch.
Trigger discipline.
Though the lead-up is missing, at this point the cops are being chased by the antagonists, whatever their stripe. And likely it was pellets, or bean bag.
I saw no flagrant skull bashing, no obscene tasering, no point blank executions while ‘reaching for the taser’. In fact, for a fracas, it was all rather civilized. Despite the fact that the only thing dangerous about futbol is the fans.
Coulda gone bad, but the policia kept their cool for the scenario and didn’t escalate.
You might want to read your source again.
Arsenal de Sarandi is an Argentine team, not Brazilian, and they’ve harassed local teams and refs at away games before as was the case here and why the police had to be called to the field.
D’oh! Text amended.
That would never happen here.
The cops would use real bullets
Ban soccer balls!
Some countries deal with the cops better than others
yet another reason why I don’t go to third world countries… and these are the adult human specimens.
I don’t think most people would consider Portugal a third world country.
There’s something worse than third-world?
They gave that tyrant what he had coming to him. Those boys must’ve felt real big, jabbing a man in the face with a nightstick after he’s pinned.
Too bad they didn’t do it to the other ones too.
Finally! An interesting soccer match!
My first thought when I watched the video was that if someone pointed a shotgun at me, I would do what it takes to get out of the way of its business end (regardless of if it is loaded only with “pellets”.) That the players barely flinched, let alone didn’t even move out of harm’s way with a gun clearly aimed at them speaks volumes about the attitude of the players.
When soccer players are fighting with police equipped with riot gear…. is any game that damn important?
The only thing the police did wrong was form the line too loosely at the beginning. Towards the end, they tightened up. As for the wanna-be peacemakers trying to get between the police and the soccer players, they needed to turn around. Grab the soccer players and push them back or down. Do not face the police and beg for patience when your teammates are running at the police.
I also noticed that the guys in the black tactical vests didn’t come out until it looked like it was about to spin out of control. I’ve had my share of criticisms for police who create unnecessary problems by over-reacting, badly, but when you don’t cease and desist belligerence when the police tell you, you’re just begging for a beat-down, or worse. It also looked like the player that threw the sucker punch, was the one who ran the farthest and fastest when the police riot crew joined the fracas. Punk!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOEBp3eZ8qA
Heres a longer video…it shows the players were arguing with the refs, with happens at the pro level all the time and they weren’t being aggressive towards the refs, just crowding them. I have no idea why they were mad though, they lost 5-2…the ref didn’t hand the other team the win.
The refs ultimately have all the power, the game is over…but they can still give out red cards that will suspend a player for the next 3 games. If the players hit them, they’re banned for the next year…at least. So I don’t think the refs are in any physical danger whatsoever.
So really, there is no reason for the cops to come over…not really…they seem a bit overzealous (all that BOPE training, haha) and consequently it kicks off.
I watched this and was amazed yet again at unarmed folks wanting to argue with police equipped with weapons, protective helmets and eventually shotguns. There is NO WAY an unarmed person (except Chuck Norris) is going to win that arguement, and MANY WAYS to get one’s self battered, beaten, shot, clubbed or killed. If I was a member of the blue team, the moment I see the police advance on me with weapons, is the moment I make haste to relocate my sorry self to a safer place, especially while in ANY FOREIGN country.