Images and videos of a doll hanging with a photo of the face of Bahia coach Rogério Ceni, along with insults and threats written on banners stretched along a viaduct near Arena Fonte Nova, the club’s stadium, went viral this Tuesday (5 ) on social media. Currently in seventh place and with three matches without winning in the Brazilian Championship, Tricolor from Bahia will soon host São Paulo, at 9:30 pm (Brasília time), for the 32nd round of the tournament.
In rejection note, the Steel Squadron condemned the demonstrations, which it classified as “unacceptable”. The club said it had contacted the Public Security Secretariat so that those responsible could be identified and punished. THE episode is similar to that suffered by Vinícius Júnior, striker for the Brazilian national team and Real Madrid, in January 2023, in Spain. ,
“Bahia publicly expresses its rejection of the unacceptable acts of threats suffered by its employees through social media in the last few hours. The attitude does not represent our history, our essence and especially our fans. We respect the right to protest, but we condemn all demonstrations with an aggressive content and that put the lives of their representatives at risk, whether they are managers, members of the coaching staff or players”, says an excerpt from the statement.
The banners displayed on the viaduct – which connects Vale Nazaré to Avenida Bonocô – had phrases such as “Ceni stupid”, “coward team” and “peace ended”. In videos posted on social media, the doll with coach Ceni’s face appears being dragged along the street, pulled by a rope tied to its head.
The demonstrations took place hours before the launch of the national Empty Chairs campaign and the Occupation Movement for Peace in Football, scheduled for this evening at Arena Fonte Nova. The initiative, promoted by the Ministry of Sports, in partnership with CBF, clubs and the National Association of Organized Fans (Anatorg), will take place during the Bahia x São Paulo game. The southwest sector of the stadium has 384 empty chairs covered with uniforms from the most diverse Brazilian teams. The symbolic act for peace will be attended by relatives of fans who died in violent situations.
COMBAT VIOLENCE IN FOOTBALL: The Ministry of Sports launches, tomorrow (5), at 9:30 pm, during the match between @ecbahia
and @SaoPauloFC the Empty Chairs campaign. https://t.co/Mphc3ocIeF— Ministry of Sports (@EsporteGovBR) November 4, 2024
“Coincidentally, in tonight’s match, Bahia, São Paulo and the Ministry of Sports are carrying out the campaign called “Empty Chairs”, which aims to raise awareness about the various forms of violence that keep the public away from football, from lethal attacks to other serious acts, such as racism, homophobia, xenophobia, violence against women and religious intolerance”, highlighted Bahia in a statement.
