One dead and 20 injured in bloody fan riots on highway

Mairiporã (Brazil) - Bloody riots by soccer fans claimed one life early Sunday morning (local time) in southeastern Brazil.

At around 5 a.m., supporters of the two clubs Palmeiras São Paulo and Cruzeiro Belo Horizonte clashed on the highway Fernão Dias in the city of Mairiporã, according to several media reports.

According to the reports, Palmeiras supporters attacked Cruzeiro fans returning from an away game at Club Athletico Paranaense.

The two fan camps are said to have had a bloody confrontation at a toll booth, in which, according to initial information, a 30-year-old man was killed - at least 20 other people were injured, according to official reports.

Footage circulating on social media shows the shocking extent of the violence: men are beating each other up - armed with iron bars, wooden slats and baseball bats, the roadway becomes the scene of a terrifying act of violence. Fireworks were also set off and a bus was even set on fire.

Yesterday, Sunday, first division club Cruzeiro released a statement on the events: "Cruzeiro deeply regrets another incident of violence between fans, this time in the early hours of the morning on the Fernão Dias highway, which led to the death of a Cruzeiro fan and several injuries," the club announced, condemning the events:

"There is no more room for violence in soccer, a sport that unites passions and crowds. We must put a stop to these criminal acts."

This is not the first incident of this kind, as there have already been riots between supporters of both clubs in the past: In 2022, there had also been rioting on a highway, and there had also been injuries then.