The Brazilian Football Confederation displayed the crest of Corinthians instead of Santos on an official bracket graphic during the Copa do Brasil semi-final draw on Thursday. The national governing body made the error during a live broadcast event in Rio de Janeiro organized to determine home-field advantage for the upcoming semi-final matches.
An official graphic displayed on screen during the ceremony illustrated the knockout bracket leading up to the four semi-finalists. In the quadrant designated for the quarter-final matchup between Palmeiras and Santos, the emblem of Santos, popularly known as Peixe, was replaced by the logo of Corinthians.
The graphic blunder drew widespread attention because Corinthians did not participate in the quarter-final stage of the competition. The Sao Paulo side had been knocked out in the round of 16 by Internacional, whereas Santos had progressed to face Palmeiras in the last eight.
Mistake on official tournament bracket
Santos earned their place in the quarter-finals by overcoming Remo in the round of 16. That victory set up a quarter-final tie against state rivals Palmeiras in a pair of high-profile derby encounters.
Palmeiras secured a decisive 3-0 victory in the first leg on 26 August at Nubank Parque in Sao Paulo. The return leg was played on 2 September at Vila Belmiro in Santos, where the two teams fought out a 0-0 draw. The result gave Palmeiras a 3-0 aggregate victory and sent them through to the semi-finals.
As a result of their aggregate defeat, Santos had already been eliminated from the Copa do Brasil well before the Brazilian Football Confederation presented the broadcast graphic featuring the Corinthians crest in their spot.
Corinthians title defense ends in round of 16
Corinthians entered the tournament as the defending champions of the Copa do Brasil. Their campaign for a second consecutive title ended in the round of 16 at the hands of Internacional, who won the second leg 3-2 to secure their place in the quarter-finals.
The departure of Corinthians took place prior to the quarter-final stage of the competition. The eight clubs that competed in the quarter-finals were Atletico Mineiro, Cruzeiro, Gremio, Internacional, Palmeiras, Santos, Vasco da Gama, and Vitoria.
Internacional went on to play in the quarter-finals after knocking out Corinthians, while Cruzeiro, Gremio, Atletico Mineiro, Vasco da Gama, and Vitoria completed the remainder of the eight-team lineup alongside Palmeiras and Santos.
Semi-final fixtures and stadium schedule
The official tournament bracket had already established the match pairings for the semi-finals. Palmeiras were placed on one side of the draw to face Vasco da Gama, while Gremio were paired against Atletico Mineiro on the opposite side of the bracket.
Thursday's draw was conducted solely to determine the home and away order of the fixtures, as the semi-final pairings had been fixed in advance by the Brazilian Football Confederation. The confederation set base dates of 1 November for the first legs and 8 November for the decisive second legs.
Following the draw, Gremio will host Atletico Mineiro at Arena do Gremio in Porto Alegre for the first leg of their tie, before Atletico Mineiro host the return fixture at Arena MRV in Belo Horizonte. In the second semi-final tie, Palmeiras will host Vasco da Gama at Nubank Parque in Sao Paulo for the first leg, with Vasco da Gama hosting the second leg at Sao Januario in Rio de Janeiro.
