Ingenious or incendiary, promising or provocative, the "seal dribble" is stirring up quite a controversy in Brazil.
Cruzeiro playmaker Kerlon, the 19-year-old midfielder at the center of the debate, confounds and irritates opponents by repeatedly bouncing the ball off his head to run past defenders.
With the ball out of reach, opposing players find it hard to stop Kerlon without fouling him.
But some players say the move is disrespectful because it breaks unwritten soccer ethics, and they argue that Kerlon uses the move to show off, not to try to score goals.
"It is a provocation. He may have to be sidelined for several years if he gets kicked in the face," former Brazil goalkeeper and current Atletico Mineiro coach Emerson Leao said. "I hope that never happens."
Kerlon's latest balancing act caused a nationally televised brawl on Sunday after Cruzeiro beat rival Atletico Mineiro 4-3 in the Brazilian league.
Shortly after Cruzeiro took the lead for good, Kerlon decided to try the move. He bounced the ball on his head three times before Atletico defender Coelho leveled him with a hard tackle.
Atletico players charged Kerlon, screaming at him and accusing him of provoking them with the dribble. Kerlon's teammates came to his rescue, but the scuffle lasted several minutes.
Coelho was ejected from the match because of the foul, and the controversy was installed.
"What Kerlon did was not right," Atletico striker Marinho said. "We know he is a skillful player, but I think it would be wrong even if he was playing for us."
Kerlon is undeterred by the critics.
"It's my move," Kerlon said. "It's not the first time I do it and it won't be the last."
"We need to decide what we want in soccer. Is it the beautiful play or the violent play? Brazilian soccer has always been about skillful players, not violent players," Kerlon added. "I'll never stop doing the play. They'll need to create a new law if they want me to stop."
The majority of Brazil's soccer analysts have sided with Kerlon.
"He has the right to keep using the seal dribble anytime he wants," said Paulo Vinicius Coelho, an analyst with the Lance sports daily.
"He only does it because he is able to," GloboEsporte columnist Ledio Carmona said. "Those who are not can only applaud."
Coelho, the Atletico defender, could be suspended for more than a year because of the foul on Kerlon, according to Brazil's top sports tribunal regulations.
"[Kerlon] acted within the law. He did nothing wrong," Paulo Schmitt, the sports tribunal attorney-general, told the Agencia Estado news service. "Coelho is the one who went too far."
Coelho denies he committed the foul because he was upset with the move.
"It was a hard foul, but I was only trying to keep him from advancing," he said. "I wasn't trying to hurt him."
Fluminense defender Luiz Alberto said on Wednesday that Coelho did the right thing.
"I know I may be punished for what I'm going to say, but I would take Kerlon out if I was in Coelho's position," Luiz Alberto said. "That [dribble] disrespects the players who are on the other side."
Fred Kerley is competing unaugmented against drug-fuelled athletes at this weekend’s Enhanced Games and still hopes to race in the 2028 Olympics, the suspended former 100m world champion said on Friday. Arguably the biggest name at the divisive event in Las Vegas, where doping is permitted, the US sprinter said he had chosen not to take any of the banned substances including testosterone and steroids that his competitors have been using. “I don’t need it. God gave me fast feet for a reason. And I’m here to showcase my talent,” Kerley said. Kerley last September became the first US competitor and first track
VICTORY ABROAD: The team took home a fistful of medals and secured spots for the autumn’s Asian Games, scheduled for September in Nagoya Taiwan’s women’s team captured the overall title at the Asian Taekwondo Championships in Mongolia on Sunday, finishing with two golds, one silver and one bronze medal. The strong showing, led by gold medalists Wang Chieh-ling and Chang Jui-en secured the full quota of available spots for Taiwan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, in September. Wang opened Taiwan’s medal run by winning gold in the women’s under-46kg class on Thursday, the first day of competition. Liu Yu-yun later earned a silver in the under-49kg class. On the final day on Sunday, Chang won Taiwan’s second gold medal in the under-62kg event, and
MLB is experiencing an epidemic of guys being dudes. At ballparks all across the US, groups consisting of mostly young men are joining in on the “Tarps Off” trend that is loud, goofy, infectious and new to the baseball world. Joining in on the fun is simple: Go to the section where the party is happening, take off your shirt and start twirling it above your head. Soccer-like chants or singing usually follow — injecting a jolt of energy for a sport that is occasionally chided for its lack of energy inside the stadium. After getting its start in St Louis, Missouri, on
Hull City AFC are to play Middlesbrough for a place in the Premier League after Southampton on Wednesday failed in their appeal against expulsion from the Championship playoff final for spying on opponents. Southampton were thrown out of the final on Tuesday and handed a four-point deduction for next season after they had beaten semi-final opponents Middlesbrough. “The original sanction of expulsion ... remains in place, as does the four-point deduction to be applied to the 2026/27 Championship table and the reprimand in respect of all charges,” the English Football League said in a statement. The final is to be played at Wembley
RSS