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RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian police said Monday they had arrested a man suspected of killing a man after a football match by hurling a toilet bowl at him.
Everton Felipe Santana, 23 was arrested on suspicion he threw the bowl which killed Paulo Ricardo Gomes da Silva, 26, outside the Arruda stadium Friday in the World Cup host city of Recife.
Da Silva died after fans clashed outside the stadium on the other side of town from the brand new Pernambuco Arena which will be used for World Cup action in Recife.
Da Silva was buried on Sunday after an incident of hooliganism that shocked Brazil, who will host the World Cup next month after a series of recent outbreaks of football-related violence.
Globo’s G1 web news portal quoted Santana’s lawyer as saying he “knew what he was doing” even if he had not planned on causing disorder when he went to see the game between local side Santa Cruz and Parana.
“He confessed to participating, but could not explain his motive,” Globo quoted the lawyer as saying, adding Santana had told him he was ashamed of what he had done, and had given police details of other fans involved.
Earlier, Brazilian Minister of Sport Aldo Rebelo condemned the incident.
“Imagine. Someone goes to a football stadium, proceeds to dismantle a toilet and throws it at another fan. What is that?” asked Rebelo incredulously.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff tweeted her sorrow and outrage at the killing Sunday, saying that “a country that loves football cannot tolerate violence in its stadiums.”
Brazil’s Tribunal for Sporting Justice on Sunday imposed a two-match supporter ban for upcoming matches at Arruda stadium and said the venue would remain closed pending the outcome of an ongoing investigation.
Relatives of Da Silva say they are considering legal action against Santa Cruz.
But chairman Antonio Luiz Neto insists the club did what it could to keep fans apart, allowing a 15-minute interval for rival supporters to leave the venue.
On Sunday, Globo quoted Beraldo Neto, a professor of physics, as indicating Da Silva was hit by a force equivalent to an object weighing 350 kilograms (770 pounds).
He estimated its weight at 15 kilograms and the speed it was thrown at some 80 kilometers (50 miles) per hour.
Other recent soccer violence in Brazil saw fans of Atletico Paranaense engage in bloody clashes in December with visitors Vasco da Gama and fans of Sao Paulo-based Corinthians attack players in the club’s training complex. – Rappler.com
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