Before Sunday, July 9, the soccer world might not have known much about Jacy Maranhão. The 29-year-old defender plays for Coritiba and, since 2025, has appeared in three Brazilian competitions: the 2025 Brasileirão Série B, the 2026 Campeonato Brasileiro, and the 2026 Copa do Brasil. And to be fair, his performances haven’t exactly been headline material. That changed during Sunday’s Brazil Serie A matchup against Chapecoense.

But Maranhão didn’t make headlines because of what he did on the field. Instead, it was what happened after he scored a goal that eventually got wiped off the board for offside. His celebration quickly became the biggest talking point of the game and left the Coritiba defender injured in the process. So, how did Jacy Maranhão celebrate?

Available video shows the Coritiba defender scoring and immediately grabbing the ball before jumping over the advertising boards at Couto Pereira, Coritiba’s home stadium. His goal was simple: get closer to the fans sitting on the other side of the boards. But in the heat of the moment, Maranhão made one huge mistake.

He didn’t notice the access tunnel to the locker rooms directly behind the advertising boards. And that’s where things took a frightening turn.

Instead of landing among the fans, Maranhão jumped straight into the tunnel. In a split second, the celebration turned into a scene that left everyone watching stunned. His teammates immediately gathered around the advertising boards, anxiously waiting to see whether their defender was okay.

Thankfully, a security official stationed nearby quickly followed Maranhão down the stairs into the tunnel. Moments later, Maranhão emerged, limping his way back up the staircase.

He couldn’t return to the game. The fall had left him with an injured ankle, and later in the match, he was seen sitting on the bench with ice wrapped around it. To make matters worse, his goal was eventually ruled out following a VAR review, adding another frustrating twist to an already painful sequence. Still, there was one bright spot for Maranhão.

Coritiba came away with a 2-1 victory, their first win in the 2026 Brasileirão Série A since May 26. So, did Maranhão’s unexpected trip into the tunnel somehow bring his team some good fortune?

That’s certainly up for debate. But Brazilian journalist Leonardo Mendes Jr. noticed something about the incident that made the whole scene even more bizarre.

Shortly after the match, Mendes Jr. posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, pointing out that the security official involved in Maranhão’s incident was reportedly the same person who was there 12 years ago when former Coritiba striker Joel Tagueu fell and suffered an injury in that very same tunnel.

Eerie coincidence?

But the man at the center of Sunday’s bizarre incident didn’t seem to take the situation seriously. Maranhão’s comments after the game showed just how indifferent he was to what had happened.

Soccer star finds fun in the middle of injury 

The fall left Jacy Maranhão with an injured ankle. However, the pain didn’t stop the Coritiba defender from explaining exactly what happened.

After the game, when he was asked about the bizarre moment, Maranhão said, “At the time, I wanted to celebrate with the crowd, but I didn’t even remember that there was a force there. When I jumped, you know when you dream that you’re falling from a building? It was like that.”

Maranhão then opened up about the injury itself. 

“When I stepped there, man, I ended up turning my foot. And then when I was leaving the celebration, I even fell from there again, because I was in extras. But then it started to hurt a lot; it started to limit me from changing direction. And then I even asked to come back, but it was hurting a lot, and then I couldn’t continue. But other than that, I’m fine.” 

Still, the No. 55 knows his unexpected tumble into the tunnel will probably become a popular meme in the coming days, and he doesn’t seem to mind.

Maranhão is also aware of the eerie connection between his fall and the one involving former Coritiba striker Joel Tagueu 12 years ago. And rather than simply shrugging it off, the defender had a suggestion for the stadium authorities.

“Don’t send the guy away. He has to make a barrier there to hold you guys now. But if he scores, it’s okay,” Maranhão said.

That’s how Jacy Maranhão is choosing to look at the bizarre situation, with a little pain, a little humor, and hopefully a much safer celebration next time.