Amid Confusion With Fans, Cruzeiro Forces Game 5 – Superliga Semis

  0 Liam Smith | April 20th, 2018 | Brazilian League, Brazilian Volleyball, International Volleyball, News, Pro Indoor, South American Volleyball

2017-2018 BRAZILIAN MEN’S SUPERLIGA

Sada/Cruzeiro was able to tie its series 2-2 against EMS Funvic/Taubaté  by handing it a 3-0 (23/25 25/27 20/25) loss behind Yoandy Leal‘s 16 points on 12/20 (60%) hitting. Wallace Souza had 10 points in the losing effort. Cruzeiro hit 58% from the field as a team, while holding Taubaté to a 44% effort.

The game though, was highlighted by an unfortunate fight between Taubaté’s fans and Cruzeiro‘s players. Leal was the main target of the fans’ ire. Taubaté’s libero Thales Hoss accused him of being the culprit of the fight, although he did contradict himself a few times in his statement:

“What I saw was the crowd heckling Leal a little bit, saying some things that I could not hear. He gestured towards the crowd, but I didn’t see what it was. I do not know if it was insulting. I said to him, “man, you do not need to do that.” Then he told me I was talking too much, as a clear provocation. I wasn’t going to fight. This is not part of volleyball. But I told him that he lacked respect with our team, with our fans. He made an obscene gesture to the crowd, and then to someone on our team. They won the game inside the court, they deserved to win. But he did not have to escalate things. He lacked respect. In my opinion, he started everything. The crowd, of course, will always heckle players. We’re used to it. We have to know how to deal with this. I do not think he should have done what he did. Everyone saw it, you know what happened. There are cameras, everybody is filming. He did not show respect to our team, to our fans.”

Cruzeiro was quick to try to clear things up after the game:

“It was an explosive game, where the home team was defeated. At the end, Leal celebrated the important victory by making a 3 to 0 gesture (showing that it was over, end of game). As Leal headed toward the locker room, a fan near the railing hit the athlete’s head with an object and the confusion began. Other people on Cruzeiro‘s staff were also hit. Our professionals suffered an assault on the court and this is unacceptable. Fortunately, Taubaté’s security guards held the fans and nothing more serious happened.”

Game 5 will be this Friday. It is not yet known if any of the parties will be penalized for what happened.

*Quotes extracted from Globo.com

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NO SEU PAÍS, ISTO SIGNIFICA O QUÊ? Para o Leal, significa TRÊS! TRÊS títulos Sul-Americanos que ele comemorou em 2017. Um, dois, três. Três a zero também cabe. Sada Cruzeiro: Leal não fez gesto obsceno e agressão aos jogadores na quadra é inaceitável A direção da equipe do Sada Cruzeiro lamenta profundamente as cenas de agressão aos jogadores do time, após a vitória sobre o EMS Taubaté Funvic por 3 a 0, na noite de terça-feira, 17/04, no ginásio Abaeté, em Taubaté-SP. E a diretoria do clube esclarece que em nenhum momento o atleta Leal fez um gesto obsceno em quadra. No final da partida, o atleta, diante da reclamação dos jogadores adversários, fez um sinal com as mãos de 3 a 0 (mostrando que acabou, fim de jogo). Esse gesto representando o número três (3) é absolutamente natural para ele. O clube reitera que o atleta Leal não teve intenção alguma de fazer nenhum gesto obsceno. Dentro de quadra houve provocações de ambos os lados, um clima quente em uma semifinal extremamente disputada. Tentar jogar sobre o atleta essa acusação é uma tentativa clara de prejudicar o jogador e o Sada Cruzeiro. Situação real e muito grave foi o ocorrido após a partida, quando Leal ia em direção ao vestiário e foi agredido fisicamente. Um torcedor do time da casa, que estava próximo ao gradil do ginásio, bateu com um objeto na cabeça do atleta e a confusão começou. Outras pessoas da comissão técnica do Sada Cruzeiro também foram atingidas. O preparador físico, inclusive, teve que ser atendido por receber um soco na cabeça. Felizmente os seguranças do EMS Taubaté Funvic contiveram os torcedores. Mas nossos profissionais sofreram uma grave tentativa de agressão em quadra e isso é inaceitável para o esporte. É preciso que os responsáveis sejam punidos e que se repense a estrutura de segurança. Tanto para os torcedores quanto para os jogadores, que estão ali exercendo a sua profissão.

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