Supporters of two soccer teams from Rio de Janeiro clashed on Sunday during a Brazilian championship match, interrupting the game for more than one hour and leaving at least three people hospitalized in serious conditions, local officials said.
Shocking television footage showed fans of Atletico Paranaense and Vasco da Gama, two rival teams meeting for a key end-of-season match, wage a savage battle in the terraces of the soccer stadium in the southern city of Joinville.
Police fired rubber bullets into the brawling crowd and a helicopter was called in to evacuate at least one injured person. The incident will likely heighten concerns about the security arrangements for the 2014 World Cup, which will be played in Brazil next summer.