GUNSHOTS interrupted an interview with Liverpool icon Philippe Coutinho.
Loud gunfire also erupted when his Vasco da Gama team-mates Leo Jardim and Nuno Moreira went in front of the same cameras pitchside.
Fans were shocked by the scenes in Rio de Janeiro – but many were even more amazed by the reaction of all three players.
Former Barcelona playmaker Coutinho, 32, paused when the shots cracked out, before turning around grinning and sharing a jokey comment.
His fellow Brazilian, 30-year-old ex-Lille keeper Jardim, burst out laughing.
And Portuguese winger Moreira, 25, stood calmly with a smile on his face before crossing his arms.
Four of Brazil’s biggest teams are in the high-crime city of Rio.
Vasco, Fluminense, Botafogo and Flamengo are bitter rivals.
But some areas of the city – usually in impoverished neighbourhoods called favellas – have a history of gang violence.
And when clips of the interviews were posted online, fans were stunned by how the three stars appeared to make light of the gunshots.
One observer wrote: “The craziest thing is that no one even moves. Like normalizing things is really scary.”
Another posted: “The tranquility of the Carioca people [Rio residents] listening to the bullets flying still impresses me. “
But a third argued: “Embarrassing. They have to move the training centre out of the middle of this favela. It’s embarrassing. For the love of God.”
A fourth pointed out: “Vasco and Fluminense’s training centers are on the same street, practically next to Cidade de Deus.
“It’s not a good location. But when it comes to the city of Rio de Janeiro, no place is a good place.”
And a fifth made an even more sobering claim.
They wrote: “This is Rio without makeup, not what the authorities try to sell to outsiders. Most Cariocas survive daily under these conditions of imminent risk when leaving their homes. Devastating and revolting.”
Coutinho is on loan at mid-table Brazilian top-flight club Vasco from Aston Villa after spending last season with Qataris Al-Duhail SC.
But his career has gone downhill since he followed five scintillating years at Liverpool with a £142million move to Barca in 2018.
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