Carrot controversy hits soccer
dailynews.yahoo.com
Tuesday September 22 5:18 PM EDT
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A carrot controversy hit Brazilian soccer on Tuesday after Atletico
Mineiro striker Edmilson ate one of the vegetables in a goal celebration at the weekend.
His gesture was seen as provocative by supporters and players of rival team America-Belo
Horizonte, nicknamed the rabbits, and criticized by former World Cup referee Jose Roberto Wright.
One America player was sent off for a vicious tackle on Edmilson in the second half in an apparent
reprisal.
Edmilson pulled the carrot from his shorts, ran to the crowd and began eating it after scoring the
opening goal in Atletico's 2-0 win in a Brazilian championship derby on Sunday.
Both teams come from Belo Horzionte, Brazil's third largest city, where the carrot celebration
became a major talking point among the public.
''I didn't want to offend anyone with the joke. It was just to liven up the derby,'' Edmilson told the
sports daily Lance, adding that he kept the carrot in his shorts from the start of the game until scoring
in the 20th minute.
''Did I find it revolting to eat it? Of course not. I don't find my own body revolting.''
He admitted, however, the America midfielder Dinho, the player shown the red card, was not
amused.
''Dinho was upset. He said it was a humiliation. He was very violent with me and was so angry that
he spat in my face. He didn't see the funny side.''
Wright, a referee in the 1990 World Cup, was another critic.
''What he did...with the intention of provoking the rival fans, merited a yellow card,'' Wright said.
''But what most amazes me was the taste the carrot must have had. All sweaty and kept in his shorts.
The Atletico player clearly has a lot of courage and desire to make the fans happy.''
Brazilian players have always been among the trend-setters in eccentric goal celebrations.
A wave of choreographed moves to mark a goal hit the Brazilian game several years ago while the
telephone celebration, in which the goalscorer runs to the public phone behind the goal at the
Maracana stadium and pretends to make a call, has also become popular.
Two years ago, a Corinthians players caused a storm by impersonating a floundering fish after a goal
against Santos -- nicknamed ''The Fish.''
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