
Brazilian defender Jacy Maranhao fell into a tunnel at the Couto Pereira Stadium after scoring for Coritiba against Chapecoense on Saturday. The 29-year-old headed the ball in during the 41st minute to…
Brazilian defender Jacy Maranhao fell into a tunnel at the Couto Pereira Stadium after scoring for Coritiba against Chapecoense on Saturday. The 29-year-old headed the ball in during the 41st minute to give Coritiba a 1-0 lead, then jumped over advertising hoardings to celebrate with fans but disappeared into a passageway leading to the away dressing room. The goal was later ruled out by VAR for offside. Jacy twisted his ankle in the fall and was substituted at half-time. He said on social media the incident was “more of a scare than anything else” and that he is recovering well. A similar mishap occurred at the same stadium in 2014.

Hindustan Times and Sportstar both report that Jacy wrote on social media: “At first it was more of a scare than anything else. During the match my foot was quite painful and I couldn’t really put weight on it, but today I’m feeling much better and recovering well.” The tunnel entrance is usually closed during play but had been opened shortly before half-time. Coritiba won the match 2-1.
The knee-jerk narrative paints Jacy's tumble as slapstick, but the real story is the VAR overrule. A defender's rare goal, wiped out by a pixel-perfect offside call, then an injury from a celebratory jump. Fans love the blooper, but should ask if the celebration safety is adequate at Brazilian stadiums. A similar incident happened at the same ground in 2014. Will the club close that tunnel during play now?
Sources (2): hindustantimes.com, sportstar.thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.