GUNSHOTS interrupted an interviewwith Liverpool iconPhilippe Coutinho.
Loud gunfire likewise erupted when hisVasco da Gamateam-matesLeo JardimandNuno Moreira went in frontof TV cameras pitchside.
Fans were shocked by the scenes in Rio de Janeiro – but many were even more amazed by the reactionof all three players.
Former playmaker , 32, paused when the shots cracked out, before turning around grinning and sharing a jokey comment.
His fellow Brazilian, ex- keeper Jardim, burst out laughing.
And Portuguese wingerMoreira stood calmly with a smile on his face before crossing his arms.
Four of Brazil’s biggest teams are in the high-crime city of Rio.
Vasco,Fluminense,Botafogo andare bitter rivals.
But some areas of the city – usually in impoverished neighbourhoods called favellas– have a history ofgang violence.
And when clips of the interviews were posted online, fans were stunned by how the three stars appeared to make light of the gunshots.
One observer wrote: “The craziest thing is that no one even moves. Like normalizing things is really scary.”;;
Another posted: “The tranquility of the Carioca people [Rio residents] listening to the bullets flying still impresses me.“
But a third argued: “Embarrassing. They have to move the training centre out of the middle of this favela. It’s embarrassing. For the love of God.”;;
A fourth pointedout: “Vasco and Fluminense’s training centers are on the same street, practically next to Cidade de Deus.
“It’s not a good location. But when it comes to the city of Rio de Janeiro, no place is a good place.”;;
And a fifth made an even more sobering claim.
They wrote: “This is Rio without makeup, not what the authorities try to sell to outsiders. Most Cariocas survive daily under these conditions of imminent risk when leaving their homes. Devastating and revolting.”;;
Coutinho is on loan at 13th-placed Brazilian top-flight club Vasco from Aston Villa after spendinglast season with QatarisAl-Duhail SC.
But his career has gone downhill since he followed five scintillating years at with a £142million move to Barca in 2018.
