Members of an organised fan group went directly to the Nilton Santos Stadium early on Tuesday evening, timing their protest to coincide with the conclusion of the first-team training session. The goal was to confront players and officials directly over the club’s poor results. The tone of the protest was aggressively personal, directly targeting the majority owner of the club. The slogans – “Clown and swindler” – reflect a sentiment of betrayal and disillusionment among supporters. This public display of anger is the culmination of weeks of rising tensions with the Rio de Janeiro club already reinforcing security at their Espaco Lonier training centre for the past two weeks as they anticipated such protests.
The fan instability has intensified after Botafogo’s humiliating Copa Libertadores exit to LDU Quito and Copa do Brasil loss to rivals Vasco da Gama. Coming off last year’s league triumph, the sharp decline in form has been hard to accept, with the club now slipping to fourth in the Brazilian league. Supporters are demanding complete transparency from owner Textor regarding the club’s financial dealings and the SAF ownership model, criticising the sale of key players like Igor Jesus to Nottingham Forest and warning of mismanagement as instability in coaching and management deepens the crisis.
The instability at Botafogo is being viewed as symptomatic of broader problems within Textor’s Eagle Football Holdings model, which also includes French giants Lyon. The Ligue 1 club has faced significant turbulence under his ownership, but Textor’s entire multi-club strategy now faces an existential threat in Europe. A French member of parliament recently presented a cross-party bill that could ban timeshare control of football clubs, potentially affecting stakes held by owners of teams like Chelsea and Manchester City in Ligue 1, and directly impacting Textor’s ownership of Lyon. This massive regulatory risk in Europe only reinforces the feeling among Botafogo fans that their club’s struggles are tied to a flawed and now jeopardised ownership structure.
The immediate pressure on the Brazilian club has been slightly alleviated by their 2-1 win over Bahia, a crucial result that moved the team into fourth position on the Brasileirao table with 43 points. While the victory provides a necessary boost and improves their league standing, the club remains fully aware of the volatile atmosphere, evidenced by the pre-emptive security measures taken at their training grounds. Coach Davide Ancelotti and players alike are still under immense pressure as the demand from fans is not just for wins but to finally demonstrate the ‘guts and passion’ that they feel has been missing for a long time.
