The match in Brazil on April 10 between Desportivo Ferroviaria and Nova Venecia was not supposed to be a major national event.
He threatened to sue Netto, adding that she was trying to take advantage of being a woman, and other such incoherent nonsense.
But the question remains; how could he have engaged in such delinquency? Football is a game of emotions — in the wise words of sociologist Rogan Taylor, it is like strong beer — some people just can’t take it.
A few days before the incident involving Soriano, football did in fact become a police matter when Corinthians goalkeeper Cassio made a formal complaint about death threats he and his wife had received on social media.
He was in the team bus, on the way to a game, when the bus was attacked by some of the club’s own fans, outraged by recent results.
Or they go to the training ground to make their protest, at times — and this is especially worrying — with the cooperation of club directors.
When tempers overheated in a match in the Maracana, an old Brazilian coach said that “football is survival.” In a country such as Brazil, the game cannot be just a game.
This means that there are fewer meaningful trophies to go round — not enough for all of the clubs to maintain their status as winners.
A temporary withdrawal of the game at some point might be the best way to warn that a line is being crossed between emotion and criminality.