A general fight between fans of Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro left at least one dead and one wounded by a bullet hours before the classic that will be played this Sunday between the two main clubs in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, police sources reported.
According to the Militarized Police of the state of Minas Gerais, about 50 fans of both clubs staged a brawl, which would have been premeditated and organized through social networks.
During the fight, a 25-year-old Cruzeiro fan was shot in the abdomen and admitted to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, but could not resist the seriousness of his injuries and died.
The confrontation also left another man, a motorcyclist who was passing through the place at the time of the fight, wounded by a bullet, although without risk of death, the authorities said.
The fight ended with several injured, all with minor injuries, because the fans carried wooden sticks, steel bars, stones and fireworks to attack the rival group. So far, no one has been arrested in connection with the incident.
As Lieutenant-Colonel Micael Henrique Silva told local media, the fight was premeditated and arranged by social networks, since the place where it happened, in a neighborhood in the eastern region of Belo Horizonte, is a traditional meeting point for the fans. of Atlético Mineiro, who was surprised by the fans of the rival club.
“This Sunday morning, they were surprised by a group of about 30 fans of the “Blue Mafia” (of Cruzeiro), who went to the place exclusively to fight,” said the commander.
This was not the only episode of violence recorded in Brazilian football recently, as several teams in the country have suffered serious attacks in recent weeks.
One of them took place on February 24, when two Bahia players were injured after an explosive device was thrown at the team bus on its way to the Arena Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador.
Little more than a week later, a group of Paraná fans invaded the Vila Capanema stadium in Curitiba on Saturday, five minutes from the end of the match against Francisco Beltrao’s Uniao, who were losing 1-3, with the intention of attacking to the players of his team, who reacted quickly and were able to take shelter in the locker room in time.
Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro fans faced each other in the match preview for the Mineiro Championship ??. The Military Police confirmed one dead and one wounded by a bullet.pic.twitter.com/iT33Q53g1O
— VarskySports (@VarskySports) March 6, 2022
