Aeroflu?
As the Botafogo delegation was preparing to take the road to Rio de Janeiro International Airport (Galeão) for its trip to Argentina and the Copa Sudamericana quarter-final return against Defensa y Justicia (lost since), a group of Fluminense fans attacked the Botafogo bus, threw a stone, which hit a window near the seat of club striker, Carlos Alberto.
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The details
The incident occurred as Fluminense supporters organized a noisy welcome, nicknamed “Aeroflu”, for the Botafogo delegation upon their arrival near the airport.
A delegação do Fluminense embarcou em direção a Assunção, no Paraguai, para a decisão da Libertadores contra o Olimpia.
Centenas de torcedores estiveram presentes no AeroFlu em apoio ao time.
🎥 Reprodução/Fluminensepic.twitter.com/5DkIzyBYft
— Goleada Info (@goleada_info) August 29, 2023
At around 3:30 p.m, the Botafogo bus was hit by a stone thrown by a group of Fluminense supporters as it was traveling along Avenida 20 de Janeiro, en route to Rio airport.
Aside the initial shock, Carlos Alberto, fortunately, was not seriously injured. Although he was hit by shards of glass from the broken window.
O momento exato que o torcedor do Fluminense acerta o ônibus do Botafogo.
🎥 | @geglobo pic.twitter.com/bJ4eXJDxa2
— Informa Fogo (@informafogo) August 29, 2023
Releases from all sides
In an official statement released shortly after the incident, Fluminense condemned the attack and all forms of violence in football. They said:
“Fluminense FC deplores the violence carried out by supporters against the Botafogo bus this afternoon, and express its complete disapproval of any type of violence in football”
In response, Botafogo welcomed Fluminense’s position, emphasizing the importance of not tolerating any form of violence, whether on football fields or in society in general. The club reassured that despite the incident, no injuries were reported and that the delegation would continue its journey to Argentina as planned.
This incident underlines the tense climate that can surround the exacerbated rivalries between Brazilian clubs.
