Just another day in Brazilian football
Internacional players lifted fake caskets into the air after beating Gremio in a derby match, mocking the fact that their rivals loom closer to relegation.
The Brazilian sides faced off at the Beira-Rio stadium on Saturday, with former Shakhtar Donetsk man Taison scoring the only goal of the game to hand the hosts a much-needed victory.
Despite the game being an entertaining one, the real action followed the full-time whistle as Inter players waved cardboard coffins in Gremio’s colours to mock their local rivals, who are facing relegation from Campeonato Brasileiro Série A (the top division in Brazil).
Both clubs are situated in Porto Alegre, which is the capital of the southern state of Rio Grande de Sul.
Their fixture against each other is known as the ‘Gre-Nal’ derby, commonly known as one of the most fierce and competitive matches in South America.
Jogadores do Inter ergueram caixões do Grêmio logo após vitória no Gre-Nal. A confusão se formou. pic.twitter.com/NN5eKPpaEO
— ge (@geglobo) November 6, 2021
After witnessing the provocation, the entire Gremio squad ran onto the pitch to confront their rivals – with commotion occurring in front of the chanting home crowd, who were enjoying the scenes in front of them.
Officials, stewards and coaching staff attempted to regain control of the situation, but they struggled to do so as a number of players clashed.
Gremio defender Bruno Cortez and Internacional midfielder Patrick Nascimento were both shown red cards, with Cortez evidently angered by the situation which appeared to be led by Nascimento.
Vagner Mancini’s side currently sit 19th in the table, having accumulated just 26 points from their 29 games – with it looking more and more likely that the two-time Brazilian champions will be relegated into the second division.
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