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A soccer fan arrested in Brazil for harassing a journalist during a live show

The journalist of the ESPN chain, Jessica Dias at the moment of being attacked by the Flamengo fan, Marcelo Benevides.Screenshot (SR.SS.)

The police of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) ordered on Wednesday night the arrest of a fan who kissed a sports journalist without her consent while doing a television broadcast at the gates of Maracana. It happened a few hours before the match between Flamengo and the Argentine Velez Sarsfield, valid for the semifinal of the Copa Libertadores. The fan, Marcelo Benevides Silva, was accused of sexual harassment, criminalized in Brazil since 2018.

In these cases of flagrant crime, release on bail is not provided. The preventive detention of the man was decreed the same night after a custody hearing in the Special Criminal Court, located within the Maracana itself. Later, the fan was sent to a police station accompanied by his 17-year-old son. The Court of Justice of the State of Rio de Janeiro confirmed the information.

The kiss was not the only assault he allegedly perpetrated. The reporter told the police that she was harassed even before the broadcast, insulted and groped by the fan, who was wearing a Flamengo shirt. Other members of the ESPN channel team to which she belongs witnessed what happened.

The event, which occurred in Rio de Janeiro, led the sports discussion of the night. On social networks, journalists, clubs and fans expressed their solidarity with the victim, demanding justice and that the macho culture in football be combated more firmly. On Twitter, Flamengo repudiated the event saying that it is “unfortunate that disgusting events like this, which do not represent our fans, continue to occur.”

The ESPN channel also used the networks to position itself. In a statement, he said that he “rebukes any type of violence, whether physical or verbal” and that he will provide “all support” to the reporter in the face of “intolerant attitudes.” The station also made itself available to the authorities. Other sports media, such as GloboEsporte, TNT Sports Brasil, UOL Esportes and Dibradoras (Brazilian group that focuses on women’s sports coverage), joined forces and a single voice to ask for “enough”.

Culture of harassment in football

Cases of harassment against women journalists during sports broadcasts like this week’s have already happened on other occasions, inside and outside Brazil. Other times it hasn’t ended in arrest. In 2019, Fox Sports reporter Karine Alves was also kissed live during a game in Rio de Janeiro. Another similar case happened to the Brazilian journalist Julia Guimarães, from SportTV, during a recording made in Russia, during the 2018 World Cup. On the occasion, Julia scolded the man saying “never do that again, I didn’t give you permission”. These two cases, among many others, will not end up sanctioned by justice.

The repetition of cases like this motivated the creation in 2018 of a Brazilian collective called “Let her Work” (Deixa Ela Trabalhar), under the motto of being “a manifesto of sports journalists against harassment and differentiation in stadiums, at work and on social networks.

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Source: EL PAIS

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