Referee Anderson Daronco had heard enough.



Nineteen minutes into the second half when the ball went out of play, he stopped the match, telling the players to wait as he walked over to the touchline. There, he calmly explained the situation to the fourth official and to Vasco da Gama coach Vanderlei Luxemburgo.



There was no issue on the pitch, where Vasco led Sao Paulo by a goal to nil. The problem was in the stands and the sustained barrage of homophobic abuse emanating from the home fans, aimed at the visiting team. “Time de viado,” they had been chanting – team of faggots.



Daronco made his position clear: he was not going to stand for it. Any more and the game would not just be paused but abandoned. Luxemburgo took note, pleading with supporters to stop. Vasco player Yago Pikachu followed suit. Soon, a message went out on the stadium’s PA system.



The chanting stopped. The match continued.



It was not, on the face of...