Goal by ball boy leaves Brazilians laughing, sobbing

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Tuesday September 12, 2006

Rio de Janeiro- A ball boy who made the scoreboard when a ball he casually kicked into the net was mistakenly recognized as a goal by a referee has left Brazilians incensed, laughing and shaking their heads. The scandal over the irregular goal broke out Monday night when the programme Sporttv broadcast footage that clearly showed the ball boy was the one who put the ball into the net during a Third Division game between Santacruzense and Atletico Sorocabana.

The incident occurred Sunday after a wide shot from Santacruzense striker Samuel narrowly missed the goal in the 89th minute of the game in Santa Cruz in the state of Sao Paulo. The ball landed near a ball boy standing near the post. He stopped the ball, took a couple of steps onto the pitch and booted it into the net of the visiting team.

Referee Silvia Regina de Oliveira, a well-known official who was the first woman to referee a Brazilian National Championship match, saw the ball in the net and recognized it as a goal, bringing the score to a final 1-1 despite long protests from Atletico Sorocabana.

De Oliveira had her back to the goal at the time the ball boy placed his shot and relied on a linesman who saw no irregularities with the goal.

Thanks to the draw, Santacruzense defended its place at the top of the Third Division table with 16 points, just ahead of Sorocabana with 14.

Samuel apparently had no qualms with the goal.

"I simply shot the ball," he said. "If the referee recognized the goal, then it's her problem, not ours."

Atletico Sorocabana, however, naturally saw the situation in an entirely different light.

"We were defrauded," the team's vice president, Valdir Cipriani, said. "... The television footage speaks for itself."

The football association in Sao Paulo state said, however, that regardless of the television images, it sees no possibility of annulling the results.

De Oliveira said in her game report that she was insulted and threatened by Sorocabana players, officials and fans, but she did not allude to the tying goal.

Meanwhile, the media saw the call as a bigger issue: the future of women in Brazilian football.

"Now all macho men will come forward again and declare that women's inabilities in football are a proven fact," a commentator for the broadcaster ESPN Brasil said.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur