One of the most famous images of the rivalry between Barcelona and Real Madrid came for all the wrong reasons in 2002, when a pig’s head was thrown at Luis Figo while he was in action for Los Blancos. On Monday night, the incident was repeated in Sao Paulo in Brazil.
Figo was branded a traitor by Barcelona supporters after leaving for their fiercest rivals at the peak of his powers, and his returns were often greeted by a harsh reception, which often crossed the line, as did a number of objects thrown at him. None more infamous than the pig’s head that landed a few metres away from Figo on the 23rd of November 2002 during a Clasico at Camp Nou.
Now the incident has occurred again during a match between Corinthians and Palmeiras at the Neo Quimica Arena. The head was thrown at Palmeiras’ Raphael Veiga as he took a corner, with images showing Corinthians’ Yuri Alberto kicking the head off the pitch.
“I almost broke my foot. I thought it was something else, a cushion, but it was a pig’s head, I almost hurt myself,” Alberto told Globo Esporte afterwards, as quoted by Relevo.
In Brazil, the infamous pig's head incident has been repeated in Brazil 24 years later after one was thrown at Luis Figo in #ElClasico.
One was thrown at Palmeiras playmaker Raphael Veiga as he took a corner against Corinthians.pic.twitter.com/cFI9dO2foD
— Football España (@footballespana_) November 5, 2024
The reason a pig’s head was used in this case relates to Palmeiras’ nickname amongst Corinthians fans, which is ‘pigs’. That itself dates back to the 1976, when Corinthians President Wadih Helu called his opposite number a pig, after he refused to suspend a game between the two following the death of two Corinthians players.
The next game, Palmeiras released a pig onto the pitch, and shouted ‘pig’, as the animal ran around the pitch. They kept that as a mascot and nickname for a decade until 1986, when they retired it. The police arrested two people on suspicion of the incident, but both were released due to a lack of evidence. The authorities are now investigating how the head got into the stadium.
