Ten minutes to go in the Belo Horizonte derby between Atletico Mineiro and Cruzeiro, who share one of the fiercest rivalries in South America. Having led 2-0 and then trailed 3-2, Cruzeiro are leading 4-3 and are on the attack.
 
The ball falls to 19-year-old striker Kerlon on edge of the Atletico area and he decides it is time to perform his trademark “Seal” dribble.
 
Kerlon nonchalently flicks the ball up, and bounces it three times on his head while still running to send the Cruzeiro fans wild (and provide plenty of ammunition for headline writers — see here, for example). 
 
But the show is rudely interrupted by a crunching tackle from Atletico defender Coelho, who is sent off, and a brawl ensues. After the game, Atletico players and coach Emerson Leao furiously accuse Kerlon of trying to belittle their team.
 
“There’s a code of ethics between the players, which is not written into the rules. A player takes this sort of thing to be a lack of respect,”said Leao. “If I were the boy’s coach, I’d give him some advice.”
 
Cruzeiro were having none of it. “Kerlon will not be intimidated by threats on and off the field, by players pointing their fingers at him, telling him not to do it,” said director Valdir Barbosa. “He’s going to be inventive. He doesn’t treat this as a joke, he’s going for goal.”
 
This is not the first controversy of its type in Brazil. In 1999, a Corinthians-Palmeiras derby was abandoned in the second half when Corinthians midfielder Edilson played keepy-uppy in the centre circle (his team were three goals to the good at the time) and was chased off the field by the opposition. The following day, Edilson was kicked out of Brazil’s squad for the Copa America.
 
Cruzeiro claim that Kerlon was practicising the type of artistry for which Brazil has become famous. Atletico Mineiro said he was clowning around and making them look stupid.
 
Who’s right here? Perhaps the giveaway with this type of move is that, rather like Ronaldinho’s grin, it tends to disappear when the player’s team are losing.

As former World Cup referee Jose Roberto Wright said in his newspaper column: “The rules don’t stipulate any type of punishment for a player who uses his technique to play. The only thing I would like to know is whether he would have done the same thing earlier, when Atletico were winning. I doubt it.”

Brian Homewood