Violence in Brazil sheds light on concerns ahead of 2014 World Cup

As the football world began to digest a rather thrilling 1-1 draw between Everton and Arsenal, the images of violence from Brazil's final day of Serie A action began to takeover Twitter.

The match between Atlético PR and Vasco da Gama was stopped 15 minutes in after fighting flared up in the stands. Scuffles had to be expected, with the specter of relegation looming for Vasco da Gama while a victory would ensure a spot in next year's Copa Libertadores for Atlético PR. 

What came next was difficult to comprehend. Camera shots of players weeping on the field. A helicopter landing on the pitch, ready to escort injured fans from the stadium. Police firing rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Reports of multiple fatalities. 

The incident in Joinville on Sunday took place just days after the 2014 World Cup Draw. The excitement surrounding the tournament has morphed into a feeling of intense self retrospection for Brazil and the footballing world at large.

Writing for ESPN FC, veteran South American football journalist Tim Vickery offered his thoughts on Sunday's awful scenes. 

"The emotional stakes were raised still higher when Atletico took an early lead. Within minutes groups of rival fans were meeting in pitched battles on the bleachers. As the kicks, punches and iron bar blows flowed, three supporters were left in a state of coma. A huge national TV audience witnessed scenes of revolting violence -- scenes which will take on an extra international dimension because so many representatives of the global media are still in Brazil following Friday’s World Cup draw.

Thankfully, however, a repetition of such scenes next June and July is surely highly unlikely. There are, clearly, security concerns. In addition to Brazil’s street crime and the possibility of political protest getting out of control, there is also the near certainty that thousands of Argentine fans will cross the border to follow their team. The chance of a violent flare-up always exists."

In The Guardian, Brazilian journalist Fernando Duarte demanded the authorities start taking the hooliganism problem seriously. 

"They were not the first and will not be the last – unless Brazilian authorities start to take this problem seriously. While Brazilian football has not experienced anything like the Heysel tragedy, there are fears that violence in stadiums is escaping the control of the authorities. Incidents in the vicinity of grounds have been on the rise and a study published in August by the Rio de Janeiro State University claimed that 36 supporters died in incidents in the last two years.

The most daunting aspect of the troubles in Joinville, though, is that everybody could see it coming. Atletico-PR, based in Curitiba, another World Cup host city, were punished in October by the Brazilian Football Confederation for crowd trouble, which led to the use of Joinville, 130k away. The game against Vasco was crucial for both teams – the Rio side needed a win to avoid the drop, while Atletico were fighting for continental football."

In an interview with RMC Sport, Vasco da Gama midfielder Juninho Pernambucano, who was unable to play in the match due to injury, was left speechless. 

"I don't have any words to describe what I saw on TV. I asked my daughter to leave the room so that she wouldn't see the images. I saw players crying on the pitch and they didn't want to continue with the game.

Those images are going to remain engraved in the heads of many people who love football. It's really disappointing, and I hope the authorities are going to react because the whole world is going to be waiting for a response. Brazil is going to host the World Cup and has to provide security for everyone."

With just over six months until the world gathers in Brazil more questions will be asked regarding security. The ball is now in the court of Brazil's football authorities, the police and the government. Clearly, changes regarding how these situations can be prevented, and in the worst case, handled, are needed.