Santa Fe and Santos played out a 0-0 draw in the Copa Libertadores group stages on Wednesday night, but confusion reigned before kick-off during a misdirected minute's silence.
The reflection was meant to be for former Santos player Alexandre de Carvalho Kaneko, who passed away days before the fixture.
However, the announcement over the PA was muddled: “Ladies and gentlemen, please stand up and offer this minute of silence in honour of Santos player Ricardo Oliveira.”
The problem was obvious… Oliveira was on the pitch. The 36-year-old has been at the Brazilian club since January 2015.
After the game, Oliveira – who was substituted in the 70th minute – was unfazed. “Honestly, I didn’t notice,” he shrugged.
Was anyone in the 36,000-seater stadium paying attention?
