Brazilian Soccer Team Bahia Victims of Bus Bombing; Danilo Fernandes Hospitalized
Feb 25, 2022
Brazil's Ceara coach Guto Ferreira gestures during the Copa Sudamericana football tournament group stage match against Bolivia's Jorge Wilstermann at the Felix Capriles stadium in Cochabamba, Bolivia, on May 27, 2021. (Photo by AIZAR RALDES / AFP) (Photo by AIZAR RALDES/AFP via Getty Images)
A bomb detonated inside a bus carrying
Brazilian soccer team Bahia ahead of Thursday night's 2022 Copa do
Nordeste match against Sampaio Correa.
Freddie Keighley of the Daily Mirror
reported Friday goalkeeper Danilo Fernandes required an overnight
hospital stay after being struck by shrapnel.
"Danilo Fernandes is fine, but
will spend the night in the hospital," the club said. "The goalkeeper had multiple injuries to his face,
neck and lower limbs, which had to be sutured, and will be under
observation for further examinations and an ophthalmologist's
evaluation, as there is a cut near the eye."
Bahia scored a 2-0 win after the match moved forward as scheduled despite the attack.
Daniel and Hugo Rodallega scored for
Bahia, the competition's defending champions. The match took place at
Itaipava Arena Fonte Nova in Salvador, Brazil.
Marca reported the club's own fans are
among the suspects in the case amid frustration about the team's
results, which includes being relegated to the second division last
year.
"We will collect footage,
statements from players and witnesses that were on the spot at that
moment. We will use our maximum capabilities to identify and arrest
the perpetrators," police investigator Victor Spinola said.
Bahia manager Guto Ferreira also
responded to reports of the attack coming from Tricolor fans, per Marca.
"This is stupid, people believe
such moves will intimidate an athlete, making him perform,"
Ferreira said. "It always the coach that is bad, the player is
bad. That's not how you solve problems."
