Coluna do Fla
·21 de abril de 2026
Bahia fans launch campaign against Maestro Junior over Flamengo comment

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Yahoo sportsColuna do Fla
·21 de abril de 2026

An innocent comment by Maestro Junior during the broadcast of Flamengo’s 2-0 win over Bahia caused controversy and a huge reaction among fans of the Salvador team on social media. The rubro-negro idol used the term “sardine,” which is how Vitória fans refer to the tricolor side.
In the closing stages of the match, commentator Gustavo Villani and analyst Junior were joking about who would correctly guess the substitutions both teams were about to make. Then Maestro got every single one right. So the announcer joked: “we’re having dinner at the Maestro’s expense tonight, and you can order an expensive dish.” The idol replied: “that old fried sardine is just fine.”
However, the remark hit Bahia fans like a bomb. “Coming from a fan, fine. But from commentators? Situations like this can’t be treated as normal,” one said. “The disrespect Premiere showed Bahia is unbelievable,” said another fan from Bahia. “Let’s cancel our Premiere subscription,” suggested another.
In 2011, then-coach Joel Santana was available on the market. His name began to be linked with Bahia. Asked about the possibility of taking charge of the Salvador club, “Papai” was emphatic. “I’m waiting for big fish; sardines, no,” he said in an interview on SporTV’s ‘Bem, Amigos’.
Since then, Vitória fans have used “sardine” to taunt Bahia. As of the time this article was published, Maestro Junior had not commented on the case, even with the strong reaction among fans of the team coached by Rogério Ceni.
If Vitória fans enjoyed Maestro Junior’s comment, now it’s time for Salvador’s rubro-negro team to worry. That’s because Bahia’s rival faces Flamengo this Wednesday (22), in the fifth round of the Copa do Brasil. Kickoff is at 9:30 p.m. (Brasília time) at the Maracanã.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.









































