Jacy’s Viral Celebration Mishap at Couto Pereira

For a few surreal seconds at Couto Pereira, it looked as if the goalscorer had vanished.

Coritiba captain Jacy Maranhao, a defender who rarely finds the net, finally got his moment against Chapecoense in the 2026 Brasileirao on Saturday. He wheeled away in delight, hurdled the advertising boards in front of the home end and launched himself toward the stands.

Then he was gone.

One leap, one misjudged landing, and Jacy disappeared straight down the open access to the stadium tunnel, out of sight and into instant internet infamy.

The footage rocketed around social media: the captain celebrating wildly, the dramatic drop beyond the pitch perimeter, then the almost slapstick image of him clambering back into view, stumbling, dusting himself off and trying to resume the celebration with his teammates as if nothing extraordinary had happened.

The drama did not stop there. VAR soon ruled the goal offside, wiping it from the scoresheet and turning what should have been a career highlight into one of the most bizarre non-goals Brazilian football has seen.

Jacy, feeling the impact of the fall, was substituted in the second half with pain in his foot, though Coritiba still managed to close out a 2-1 win over Chapecoense.

After the match, the defender admitted he had simply lost himself in the emotion of the moment. He said he had been “carried away” – a defender’s confession familiar the world over – pointing out that players in his position “don’t score many goals.”

There was a more personal detail behind the celebration as well. Speaking to local media, Jacy explained that he had wanted to share the moment with his pregnant wife in the stands. In his rush, he misread his bearings and forgot that the entrance to the underground tunnel sat just beyond the boards on that side of the pitch.

“When I jumped... you know that feeling when you dream you're falling from a building? That's what it was like,” he said, summing up the shock of the drop.

Normally, that fall would never have been possible. The tunnel entrance at Couto Pereira is usually sealed during play and only opened at the end of each half. But the incident unfolded just before halftime, with the access area already opened for the imminent interval. One small timing detail turned a routine celebration into a viral mishap.

The scare was real. The damage, thankfully, was limited.

“At first it was more of a scare than anything else. During the match my foot was quite painful and I couldn't really put weight on it, but today I'm feeling much better and recovering well,” Jacy wrote on social media on Monday, reassuring Coritiba fans that the injury was not serious.

Couto Pereira, remarkably, has seen this movie before. In 2014, Cameroonian striker Joel Tagueu also fell into the same tunnel while celebrating a goal for Coritiba, adding another odd chapter to the stadium’s relationship with exuberant goalscorers and that treacherous opening.

For Jacy, the clip will live on long after the bruise fades. A defender’s rare goal, ruled out by VAR. A celebration meant for his family, swallowed up by a tunnel. And a reminder that in Brazilian football, even the gaps between the pitch and the stands can steal the show.