Violence persists six years after implantation of the single crowd in SP

Announced in April 2016 by the then Secretary of Public Security of São Paulo, Alexandre de Moraes, now Minister of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), the single crowd in the classics of São Paulo will complete six years. In the period, cases of violence related to football continued to be recorded frequently on match days between rivals.

Most occurrences now take place away from the stadiums. And not even the stages of the matches were free of episodes, even with the presence of fans of only one team. Last month, for example, the field was invaded in a São Paulo x Palmeiras with 100% tricolor public. At the end of the confusion, a knife was found on the lawn.

No one was injured by the object, which, according to police, was thrown from the stands. But there have been incidents of far more serious consequences over the past few years, with at least four deaths. The recurrence of the problem has led to questions about the effectiveness of the measure, but the Public Ministry of São Paulo (MP-SP) insists that it is necessary.

The FPF (São Paulo Football Federation) says it is against the restriction and informs that it even sent a formal request to the MP for the proposal to be reviewed. However, as has happened every year, he received the recommendation of the prosecution and informed the clubs that the 2022 season is yet another one with a single crowd in the classics.

And not just in duels between rivals. Guarani and Ponte Preta, since 2019, have joined Corinthians, São Paulo, Palmeiras and Santos in the group of those whose supporters cannot meet – in the arenas.

According to the Secretary of Public Security, the single crowd “provided a 100% decrease in occurrences inside stadiums and 90% in the surroundings, in addition to the expansion of policing inside and outside the stadiums”. The MP made it clear that it does not intend to review the determination in the short term.

“There is just fear on the part of the authorities that the release of the visiting fans could cause an uncontrollable increase in violence before and after the games,” he wrote to leaf promoter Roberto Bacal.

The measure, however, is unpopular with fans. Renan Bohus, a lawyer who defends several supporters organized by Brazil, such as Corinthians Gaviões da Fiel, understands that the restriction does not solve the problem. On the contrary, he says, it exacerbates the situation.

“The State, through the PM, loses control of where the fans are located, since, in games with two fans, the fans were centralized in a place determined by the Shock Battalion”, he said.

“It is enough to look at data on fights involving fans in a single-fan game, and we realize that they take place in different places, tens or hundreds of kilometers from the sporting event”, added the lawyer, an expert in Fan Statute. For him, the determination is unconstitutional “because it violates the fan’s right to come and go.”

The most recent of the confusions was the aforementioned case of the last month. In the Copinha semifinal between São Paulo and Palmeiras, there was an invasion of three men on the Arena Barueri lawn. São Paulo, they even exchanged pushes with alviverde athletes.

The knife found in the field did not hurt anyone, but after the match, Palmeiras and São Paulo clashed at the Guaianases station of the CPTM (Companhia Paulista de Trens Metropolitanos). At least one person was injured. The station is 70 kilometers from where the game took place.

Two months earlier, on November 18, another fight involving the two fans was recorded at CPTM’s Presidente Altino station, in Osasco. At least two people were injured. In October, Corinthians and São Paulo had fought in the center of Diadema.

Another emblematic case completed one year on the 30th. Members of Mancha Alvi Verde, the main organization of Palmeiras, and members of Gaviões da Fiel, the largest uniformed team of Corinthians, fought on the day of the Copa Libertadores final. The match did not involve the black-and-white team from the capital. It was Palmeiras x Santos day, at Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro.

The result of the fight, which took place in Sacomã, a neighborhood in the south of São Paulo, was the shooting death of a Corinthians fan, Wallace Thomaz, 29, known as Pirata. He was rescued but did not survive his injuries. Another alvinegro shot in the same conflict managed to recover.

According to the MP’s complaint, the author of the fatal shot was Sidney Teixeira Nicolau. “Armed with the Taurus 380 pistol in his hands and, using the ruse of hiding behind a school van, he started shooting at Corinthians fans,” prosecutor João Carlos Calsavara wrote in his petition, based on the investigation by the Civil police.

For the MP, the videos showed Nicolau shooting and were not the only evidence. The ballistic comparison carried out by the Criminalistics Institute pointed out that the weapon delivered by the Palmeirense was the same from which the shot against Thomaz came. Nicholas surrendered in March, but was released at the end of November.

“Behold, as this is a confrontation between organized supporters, it can happen again in the future, and if you use this process as a reference. I respect the judge’s decision, but I don’t conform with it, so I used the appropriate legal remedy to make the defendant return to prison and await the incarcerated trial,” said Calsavara, expressing concern about impunity.

Sought by the report, the defender of Sidney, the criminal lawyer Jacob Filho, said that the freedom of the Palmeirense is a constitutional right and does not generate impunity.

“Before this case, were there fights? Other fans were released, acquitted or guilty. Did this prevent fights from happening? No. violence is not the solution,” said Filho.

In the same clash, another Palmeirense was also denounced for shooting a firearm. The man, a registered marksman, confirmed that he fired his shots with his legalized pistol.

In addition to Pirata’s, at least three other deaths occurred with the single crowd in effect. Corinthians fan Danilo da Silva Santos was 30 years old when he was beaten by Santos fans in Itaquaquecetuba, Greater São Paulo, on March 4, 2018. He couldn’t resist.

Palmeira native Leandro de Paula Zanho, 38, died on July 13, 2017, when he was stabbed by Corinthians fans on Avenida General Olímpio da Silveira, in the central region, after watching the game at Allianz Parque. After hearing jokes from Corinthians who worked in a tire shop, the Palmeirense left the car he was in, and a physical fight ensued. Two Corinthians fans, who claimed self-defense, were sentenced to five years in prison.

Daniel Jones Veloso, 22, aka Dan Jones, was the first victim recorded with the single crowd in effect. The Corinthians fan was beaten with iron bars by people from Palmeiras, on September 17, 2016, in Itapevi. He was in the company of his girlfriend, when he was surrounded by five members of organized Palmeiras. The woman managed to run; he no.

The trial of the accused took place recently, and four of them were sentenced to 24 years in prison.

The report questioned the four big clubs in the state about the single crowd. Only Corinthians responded, asking that the restriction be reviewed.

“Corinthians are not in favor of the measure of maintaining a single crowd in classics in São Paulo stadiums, due to the evident ineffectiveness of the measure, which, as was to be expected, did not resolve conflicts”, says the note sent by the Parque São Jorge club. .