Athletico decides not to punish Petraglia for giving the fans a “middle finger”

President of the Board of Directors of Athletico , Mario Celso Petraglia avoided any punishment for showing the “middle finger”, in an offensive action, against red-black fans.

The incident was the subject of a formal complaint from Associação Nosso Atlético, which was rejected by the club's Ethics Committee. The document was signed by Edison Eduardo Borgo Reinert, president of the Committee, on the 12th.

At the end of January, the director responded to insults and made obscene gestures at fans in one of the boxes at Ligga Arena. The incident occurred after a draw against Cianorte in the sixth round of the Campeonato Paranaense. After the final whistle, Petraglia was the target of protests from the organized fan group Os Fanáticos, demanding he leave Furacão. Protests have been frequent since relegation and have continued this season.

The Ethics Chamber assessed that obscene gestures are common at demonstrations and in stadiums. Furthermore, it emphasized that Petraglia enjoys the same basic status as other members, which guarantees him individual freedom.

"The reported conduct—the use of the gesture popularly known as the 'middle finger'—dissociated from violence, threats, or harm, is absolutely common and repeatedly observed in sports environments and public demonstrations, and is also frequent in private discussions, especially in the stadium environment, where emotions run high," Reinert pointed out.

“Suspending a member for this reason would set a very subjective and dangerous precedent, making any bodily expression that might displease another group of fans punishable — which could include shouts, gestures, songs or visual displays,” he added.

The Nosso Atlético Association, a fan movement that has the support of former presidents and demands more transparency from the club, denied last year that this is the beginning of an opposition slate for the Athletico elections, scheduled for the end of 2027.

Despite this, Edison Eduardo Borgo Reinert, president of the Furacão Ethics Chamber, pointed out that the repercussion generated by Petraglia's offensive against the fans, who were the target of the association's representation, signals a political bias.

“(…) it is observed that the repercussion of the case itself indicates an evident political bias, and not a disciplinary one”, he pointed out.

Furthermore, Reinert also cited two cases reported by the Association, one of which was in relation to the two Athletico members who were suspended, for an indefinite period, from attending the Arena da Baixada after speaking out against the team .

André Luiz dos Santos and Bruna Azevedo were the protagonists of a demonstration against the Rubro-Negro players on the plane that brought the delegation back to Curitiba after the comeback defeat to Volta Redonda, 3-2, at the end of July.

“The cases (…) involved aggression, threats, concrete physical risk, affront to the integrity of third parties and collective and repeated behavior (…), conduct objectively incompatible with associative coexistence and the proper functioning of the club”, he concluded.

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