Coach Scolari walks off during Gremio defeat

With the clock ticking towards a third defeat in four matches for Gremio, Scolari decided to leave the Arena do Gremio pitch early on Saturday.

Scolari was heavily criticised for abandoning Gremio but the 66-year-old said the decision was made in order to "cool down" after watching his team's poor performance against Veranopolis, who claimed their first win of the campaign.

"I sent myself off. It's impossible to be more embarrassed than that," Scolari told reporters afterwards.

"What the team did had nothing to do with the things we do when training. It isn't worth going on letting the Gremio fans down.

"There was nothing else I could do out there by the pitch and so I went to the changing room. The subject is closed.

"I left because I didn't want to get involved in any bust-ups at the end of the game. Our opponents come to our ground, study the way we play and then beat us."