The incident occurred during Coritiba’s match against Chapecoense in Brazil’s top-flight league Série A last week.
Jacy thought he had extended his team’s lead to 2-0 in the first half. After scoring with a header, the Coritiba captain ran toward the stands to celebrate. He jumped over the barrier, completely unaware that the tunnel entrance leading to the dressing room had been opened in preparation for halftime.
The jump made Jacy fall straight into the tunnel. A security guard rushed down the stairs to check on him, while his concerned teammates repeatedly looked over the barrier to see if the 29-year-old defender was injured.
|
Defender Jacy during a match for Coritiba. Photo by Instagram/@_jacy97 |
After the match, Jacy said it felt like a dream when he was “falling from a building.”
“I scored the goal and wanted to celebrate with my wife because she’s pregnant,” Jacy told Globo. “But then I remembered it was my first goal at Couto Pereira stadium, and I also wanted to celebrate with the fans, but I hadn’t remembered there was a moat there.”
To make matters worse, Jacy’s memorable celebration turned out to be in vain, as his goal was disallowed for offside following a review.
The fall made Jacy suffer a twisted ankle. He tried to continue playing and received treatment from Coritiba’s medical staff during halftime. However, when the second half began, Jacy felt pain whenever he ran and asked to be subbed out just two minutes after the second half began.
The Coritiba defender will undergo further medical checks to determine the level of his injury. While Jacy believes the issue is likely not serious, it could force him to miss the upcoming match against Sao Paulo at the Morumbi Stadium this weekend.
This is not the first time a player has fallen into the tunnel at the Couto Pereira stadium during a celebration. In 2014, Coritiba striker Joel also fell into the open tunnel while celebrating a goal against Sao Paulo. According to Daily Mailthe security staff member who assisted Joel back then was the same person who rushed down to help Jacy during this incident.
A replay on television shows Coritiba defender Jacy falling into the tunnel when celebrating his goal, which was later disallowed.