One dead and three injured before game in Rio

A fight before the Botafogo and Fluminense game this Thursday in Rio de Janeiro, for the South American Copa Sudamericana, ended up with one dead and three people injured. A Botafogo fan died during the shooting that took place prior to the game, as people were moving towards the Maracana Stadium. According to police, Botafogo and Vasco fans had organized an invasion to the office of a Fluminense fan club. The Fluminense fans learned about this plan and prepared a trap, waiting for their opponents near the fan club's office. When a bus with Botafogo fans approached, they started shooting at it, killing one person. Three other people were injured in the fight - two by gunshot -, and are in critical condition.

The game ended 1-1, with Fluminense playing most of the match with 10 men, and Botafogo losing Ze Roberto and Lima to injuries (they weren't even meant to start, but coach Cuca decided to play with his team's full strength at the last minute). Fluminense dominated the first half despite being one man down, and scored first with Arouca. Botafogo tied with Juninho in the second half and could have scored the second if it hadn't missed so many chances. The result means Fluminense can tie the second game 0-0 and advance, since it played in Thursday's game as the visiting team.