A BRAZILIAN football chief got into a fight with a fan in a shopping centre.
And he has even been accused of biting the supporter before the official’s friend allegedly kicked him in the head.
Flamengo fanatic Leandro Campos has made the extraordinary allegations against the club’s vice-president Marcos Braz.
It is understood the pair got into the scrap at the Barra mall in Rio de Janeiro last Tuesday.
Braz claimed he attacked Campos because he made death threats and insulted his 15-year-old daughter who was with him on the shopping trip.
In a lengthy explanation of his version of events, Braz said: “I went to a certain store to buy her a birthday gift. When I was inside the store, the problems happened.
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“Some people at the back started to question me, make demands but I didn’t open my mouth. I didn’t say anything at all because there was a couple there with a newborn baby.
“I was talking to him, heading towards him, and I systematically told him several times that my daughter was there. His last sentence was, ‘F *** your daughter.'”
Braz then said the fight broke out, lasting around 40 seconds, and the police were called.
He went to the police station to give a statement but declined medical assistance at the hospital despite his nose appearing to bleed.
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But Campos responded to those allegations by insisting he simply told Braz to leave the club – and did not even see his daughter who was originally with the club chief – before revealing the extent of the supposed violence.
Campos said in a press conference on Friday: “I saw him inside the store, picked him up and said, ‘Marcos Braz, leave Flamengo.’
“I passed by and saw him. I said to him I am dissatisfied with the club’s current situation.
“I turned my back and walked diagonally across the mall. At no point did I threaten him or his daughter.
“I realised he was coming after me because the shopkeeper screamed. I turned, he was coming with his fist clenched.
“I turned to face him, took steps back, he lost his balance and fell. He pulled my legs, that’s when I fell too.
“He fell on my groin, he bit me, while a friend of his came to my side and started kicking me in the head.
“At that moment the mall security guards took him off me, the girl from the store also took him off me.
I don’t regret it [but] I’m even afraid to go out on the street… I’m a victim
Leandro Campos
“At no point did I attack him because there was no way. His friend was kicking me.
“At no point did I punch him, kick him… nothing! Even the witnesses said that.”
Campos denied causing the injury spotted on Braz’s nose during his own press conference last week – and also confirmed he had not planned a premeditated ambush on the vice-president.
But the supporter revealed he is now living in fear after the ordeal.
He continued: “I work nearby at iFood on my bike. I’m at the mall every day.
“I don’t regret it, because I didn’t do anything major. I was the one attacked, in this case.
“But this is causing a lot of problems in my life. I’m not going to work. It’s not possible.
“I’m even afraid to go out on the street to tell the truth. I’m a victim, I never attacked him verbally or physically.”
Flamengo’s current manager is Jorge Sampaoli with the likes of David Luiz, Gabriel Barbosa and Felipe Luis among the star names in the squad.
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They won the Copa Libertadores last year but are now slumped down in seventh in the Brazilian Serie A, 11 points adrift of leaders Botafogo after 24 matches.
To make matters worse, the Maracana giants lost the Copa do Brasil final on Sunday with a 2-1 aggregate defeat to Sao Paulo.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
