Paulista FA bans parents from Corinthians U11, U12 matches, launches campaign

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Central do Timão

·25 September 2025

Paulista FA bans parents from Corinthians U11, U12 matches, launches campaign

By Henrique Pereira / Central do Timão Editorial Team

Between the end of August and the beginning of September, the São Paulo Football Federation (FPF) determined that the matches of the Under-11 and Under-12 State Championship should be played with closed gates in rounds 16 and 17. In total, four games of the Timãozinho were held without the presence of the fans. The reason, unusual and at the same time worrying, had nothing to do with the young athletes on the field, but rather with the behavior of the parents in the stands.

This Wednesday, the FPF released a short film about the campaign "Parents in Punishment - Hate + Football". The video begins with actors portraying a conversation between a child and his parents about the measure adopted by the federation. Then, images of the closed gates and real testimonials from the youth categories players are shown.

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Photo: Reproduction/FPF

One of the testimonials stands out for its sincerity: "It's not cool to curse a child. I was sad. I even cried". Another young man exposes the pressure experienced on the field: "We are very afraid of making a mistake. If we make a mistake, the parents curse".

In addition to the excessive demands, the boys also reported more serious situations, such as homophobic and racist insults, and even fights between adults in the stands. One athlete said that, being shorter in stature, he heard offensive taunts. Another revealed that he had been called a "doll" in a derogatory tone. And there was no shortage of traditional curses, such as "Son of a B", directed directly at the children.

In 2022, the FPF recorded more than 30 occurrences of this type. So far this year, the cases have already exceeded 40. As Corinthians participates in both competitions, four matches of the club — two in each category — took place without an audience during the restriction period.

The measure, recommended by the São Paulo Sports Court of Justice (TJD-SP), was implemented by the FPF with a more educational than punitive character. In total, 144 games took place with closed gates in the two rounds. Now, with the reopening of the stands, the expectation is that such behaviors will not be repeated.

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