A state cup final in Brazil descended into chaos as a mass brawl between Cruzeiro and Atlético Mineiro at the Mineirão produced a record 23 red cards and forced military police onto the field. Order took more than 10 minutes to restore. The referee, Matheus Delgado Candançan, did not send anyone off during regulation. After a post-match review, the organizing committee issued retrospective red cards—12 to Cruzeiro and 11 to Atlético. Witnesses likened the scenes to “MMA” and “pure anarchy,” the highest such tally in Brazilian football history, according to The New York Times.
The confrontation erupted after a clash between Atlético’s goalkeeper Everson and Cruzeiro midfielder Christian. Everson was expelled postgame for “aggressively assaulting the opponent, striking him with his knee to the face.” Christian was expelled for “striking Everson on the head with excessive force and high intensity.” Images of Everson with a bloody, injured face spread rapidly on social media, shocking the sports community.
Substitutes, coaching staff, and security personnel
The violence lasted more than a minute. It spilled across the pitch and engulfed substitutes, coaching staff, and security personnel before authorities could separate those involved. The sequence included Atlético’s Hulk striking an opposing player on the back of the head. Cruzeiro defender Lucas Villalba replied with a side kick, and 17-year-old defender Kaua Prates became entangled in the melee.
Tensions had been building before the explosion. Atlético defender Renan Lodi reacted furiously to taunting from Cruzeiro midfielder Matheus Pereira—who said the Atlético players “did not know how to lose”—and shoved his opponent in the throat. In the aftermath, the match report captured the breadth of the sanction. Even Walace Souza Silva, who did not take the field, was among the 23 players listed with red cards.
On the scoreboard, Cruzeiro prevailed 1-0 to lift the Campeonato Mineiro title. Kaio Jorge decided the final in the 14th minute. The victory ended Atlético’s six-year hold on the state championship and secured Cruzeiro’s first crown since 2019. Kaio Jorge finished as the tournament’s top scorer with seven goals and was also voted Ídolo da Galera (Fan’s Idol). The 23 players expelled face possible suspensions ranging from four to 180 days, with Atlético’s goalkeeper Éverson and forward Hulk among those facing potential severe sanctions.
"Cowardly"
Hulk, Atlético’s captain, publicly condemned the officiating and expressed remorse for the scenes. “He had no personality. If he has to send one, two, or three players off, then he should do it! He was afraid to whistle the final,” he said, calling the referee “cowardly.” He also apologized for the violence and described his own actions as an instinctive response when he saw a teammate under attack. “It is regrettable scenes of violence. This is not what we should show to children and adolescents,” he said. “We try to appease, but when you are hot-blooded and see a teammate being attacked, you react automatically. But it could have been avoided,” according to Reuters.
The retrospective red cards were assigned after officials pored over video of the fracas, which broke out seconds after the final whistle and continued in multiple pockets across the pitch. The tally—12 dismissals for Cruzeiro and 11 for Atlético—sets a new mark within Brazilian football. While severe, it sits below the all-time benchmark for a single match: in February 2011, all 36 participants in an Argentine fifth-division game between Club Atlético Claypole and Victoriano Arenas were dismissed after a mass confrontation. Organizers of the Mineiro final emphasized that punishments stemming from Sunday’s events will be ring-fenced to the state competition, meaning the affected players remain eligible for national league play even as disciplinary panels weigh the length and terms of their suspensions.
The brawl’s flashpoints—Everson’s knee strike on Christian, retaliations that followed, and the rapid spillover involving benches and staff—have prompted internal reviews at both clubs. Footage from the field and tunnel areas is expected to inform individual cases as the sporting tribunal examines whether actions crossed thresholds for extended bans. Beyond the legal and disciplinary processes, the episode has left a stark image of a state championship decided as much by post-whistle violence as by Kaio Jorge’s early winner. It ensured a title meant to signal a season’s turning point will instead be remembered for a night in Belo Horizonte when a football final unraveled into a record-setting brawl, according to The New York Times.