Football fans assault radio reporter in Brazil
31.01.2007
By Kirsten Sparre
Rafael Serra, a reporter from Radio Gaucha in Brazil, was beaten up by fans from the Gremio football club when he went to cover the arrival of the team's new goalkeeper in the airport of Porto Alegre.
According to the International Freedom of Expression Exchange (IFEX), disgruntled fans surrounded the reporter and hit him in the face. The journalist managed to hide in a nearby shop and waited until the fans scattered.
According to the journalist, the assailants belong to group called "Geral do Gremico", whose members do not belong to the team's official fan club. The police will now try to identify the attackers by using images from the airport's security cameras.
Rafael Serra does not know why he was attacked but he suspects that it could be the result of criticisms made by the radio station's commentators about acts of vandalism that fans of the team had carried out in town.