With the World Cup just months away, Brazilian football is under the spotlight for the wrong reasons again after players from one of the country's most popular clubs were attacked by fans upset with the team's struggles.
The weekend attack happened at a training centre which will be used during the World Cup, and comes amid uncertainty over the start of this year's Brazilian league because of ongoing lawsuits and bribery allegations.
Brazil's image has already been tarnished by its problematic World Cup preparations - with host city Curitiba still in danger of being dropped - and last year a flood of fan violence plagued Brazilian stadiums and raised safety concerns ahead of football's showcase event.
More violence was reported at the weekend, and a video aired by local media shows four police officers using batons to strike a lone supporter allegedly involved in fan fighting during a match in the central state of Goias.
Nearly 100 fans cut through a wire of mesh fence on Saturday to invade Corinthians' training grounds, which is where Iran's national team will be based during the World Cup in June.
They attacked team employees and grabbed Peruvian striker Paolo Guerrero by his neck, forcing other players to flee into a locker room and barricade themselves until police arrived.
"This represents the failure of the Brazilian state," Corinthians president Mario Gobbi said. "It was something that shocked everyone, and it still hurts. Teams don't lose because they want to lose. Authorities are the ones responsible for handling this type of violence, not the clubs."
Corinthians, which won the 2012 Club World Cup thanks to a goal by Guerrero in the final against Chelsea, threatened not to play on Sunday because of the attack, but finally did so.
Fan violence in Brazilian stadiums was common last year, culminating with a few fans seriously injured in a confrontation at a decisive match in the league's final round, prompting FIFA to release a statement reassuring that during the World Cup such cases were not expected.
FIFA is also concerned with the recent turmoil in the Brazilian league, which may not start on time because of a series of civil lawsuits against a sports tribunal decision that altered the league's final standings last year.
Public prosecutors reiterated on Monday that they will continue to seek legal action against the federation, which could be considered a breach of FIFA's statutes and lead to sanctions for clubs and the federation itself.
Prosecutors are also investigating whether officials from minnow club Portuguesa received money to deliberately get the team relegated by fielding a suspended player in the final round, which led to a four-point penalty and allowed defending champion Fluminense to avoid relegation.
FIFA this month will also have to decide whether it will be able to keep the southern city of Curitiba as a World Cup host city. Local organisers have until February 18 to show they can get the city's stadium ready before the tournament begins.
