Knife was thrown on the field in Copinha game, says delegate

The preliminary investigation carried out by Drade (Police Station for Repression of Sports Intolerance Crimes) pointed out that the knife found on the field in the game between São Paulo and Palmeiras, last Saturday (22), in Barueri, for the São Paulo Junior Cup, was thrown from the stands.

The object was found on the lawn of Arena Barueri after an invasion of three tricolor fans, two of which confronted players from Alviverde. One of the men managed to return to the audience area, and the other two were detained by security. Then, referee Matheus Delgado Candançan took the gun and handed it to the match delegate.

Defender Lucas Freitas and left-back Ian, both from Palmeiras, testified at the Arena Barueri itself, shortly after the clash. Images of the match broadcast, made by SporTV, and others captured by fans with cell phones were evaluated. And it was concluded that the knife was not with any of the men who invaded the playing area.

“At the moment of the invasion, some objects were thrown into the field. With images from the press and the crowd, after a lot of analyzing and listening to referees and athletes, we realized that, along with the other objects, the knife was thrown on the lawn”, said Cesar Saad, chief of Drade, São Paulo’s Civil Police department.

“Initially, we thought that one of the fans would have invaded to try to attack a Palmeiras player with a knife. But the referee itself called me and showed a video that is circulating and shows the knife being thrown with the other objects”, added Saad.

There were only São Paulo fans in the stadium located in Greater São Paulo. Since 2016, by determination of the State Department of Public Security, the classics of São Paulo are played with only one crowd. As the tricolor team had a better campaign, they played with the support of the stands.

The judge reported the events on the score sheet and released the names of the two men who were arrested and taken to the Jecrim (Special Criminal Court): Gabriel Bazarello Caires de Jesus, “who even hit with a blow and a shove” the defender Lucas Freitas, and Fabio Cristiano da Silva.

According to the referee, the Military Police, in the figure of Captain Alexandre Rodrigues Abbara, gave security guarantees for the resumption of the match, which was already in the second half stoppage time. There were two more minutes of football, and Palmeiras confirmed the 1-0 victory that led to the Copinha decision, against Santos, on Tuesday (25).

São Paulo published a note stating that it “strongly repudiates any act of violence and hopes that the culprits are held accountable”. The Paulista Federation said that “it will charge the authorities that criminals disguised as fans are punished with the utmost rigor of the law and remain away from the stadiums”.