A 23-year-old Brazilian woman died on Monday, two days after she was hit on the neck by a bottle of beer during a brawl between Palmeiras and Flamengo supporters.
Police said a 26-year-old suspect was arrested in connection with the death of Gabriela Anelli, a Palmeiras supporter.
Anelli was wounded as she tried to get into Allianz Parque Stadium in Sao Paulo for the Brazilian championship match on Saturday. Palmeiras and Flamengo drew 1-1.
Palmeiras said in its social media channels that Brazilians “cannot accept that a 23-year-old woman be a victim of barbarism in a place that should be for entertainment.” The club urged authorities to investigate the case because it “hurts the image of Brazilian soccer.”
A separate incident took place in another area of the same stadium shortly before Anelli was wounded, and forced the referee to stop play twice so the tear gas used by police could be dissipated.
Ednaldo Rodrigues, the president of the Brazilian Football Confederation, said in a statement he was working with authorities “to avoid criminal and sad episodes like this from happening again.”
“Just like in the issue of racism, it is enough [of violence],” Rodrigues said. “Soccer is about passion and not a place for infiltrated criminals to act with violence.”
The next round of the Brazilian championship will stage a minute of silence in Anelli’s memory.
