'A scare': Brazil player leaps into tunnel in joy over goal / Photo: © AFP
'A scare': Brazil player leaps into tunnel in joy over goal
A Brazilian footballer said Monday he was recovering well after an exuberant goal celebration saw him jump over a barrier and disappear into a tunnel.
In a mishap that went viral, Jacy Maranhao, the captain and defender with the Coritiba club in Brazil's top league, leaped over the pitch perimeter and down an opening to stairs and a tunnel that access the locker rooms.
A video of the bizarre incident during a match against Chapecoense on Saturday shows him clambering out afterward, stumbling and then continuing his celebration with teammates.
His goal was ruled offside by VAR soon after.
Jacy was substituted in the second half due to pain, but Coritiba went on to beat Chapecoense 2-1 in the 2026 Brasileirao.
After the match he said he had gotten "carried away" as "defenders don't score many goals."
In an interview with local media, he said he had wanted to celebrate with his pregnant wife, but had forgotten the access to the underground tunnel was on the other side of the advertising boards.
"When I jumped... you know that feeling when you dream you're falling from a building? That's what it was like."
The tunnel entrance is usually kept closed during play and only opened at the end of each half.
Because the incident occurred shortly before halftime, the access area had already been opened.
"At first it was more of a scare than anything else. During the match my foot was quite painful and I couldn't really put weight on it, but today I'm feeling much better and recovering well," Jacy wrote on social media.
It is not the first such mishap at the Couto Pereira Stadium. In 2014, Cameroonian striker Joel Tagueu fell into the tunnel while celebrating a goal for Coritiba.
A.Cantu--LGdM
