Bloody Sunday for Brazilian football, with 1 dead, over 40 injured

Bloody Sunday for Brazilian football, with 1 dead, over 40 injured Rio de Janeiro  - A violent Sunday left one person dead and over 40 injured in clashes between rival football hooligans in the Brazilian cities of Sao Paulo and Belo Horizonte, the authorities said Monday.

The most serious incident happened in Belo Horizonte, where a 20- year-old supporter of Atletico Mineiro was shot dead. Two people shot him from a motorbike while he waited at a bus stop to go to the Mineirao stadium, where his team was to play Cruzeiro.

The victim's 16-year-old cousin was also injured in the same incident. He told police that their attackers were Cruzeiro hooligans. The Minas Gerais provincial championship match went ahead, with Cruzeiro winning 2-1.

The derby between two other arch-rivals in Brazilian football, Sao Paulo and Corinthians, was also accompanied by violence. The game at Morumbi stadium ended 1-1.

Militarized police colonel Hervando Velozo said Monday that the clashes followed an explosion near an entrance to the stadium. He said police tried to calm down the crowd but a group of spectators charged against police officers and these responded with sound bombs.

Over 40 people were injured, and five of them had to be taken to hospital. There was great damage to stadium facilities, and some vehicles that were parked nearby were also damaged.

Police arrested one spectator who was carrying a homemade bomb and who is suspected with having caused the blast that triggered the riot. (dpa)