Coritiba turned 117 on Monday night, and the Couto Pereira marked the occasion with boos. A 1–1 draw with Botafogo, built from an own goal and a deflection, stretched the home side's league run without a win to five games. It also sent coach Fernando Seabra off the pitch to the jeers of a packed crowd on the club's own anniversary.
For Botafogo, the same scoreline meant something else entirely. It snapped a two-match losing run, kept them four points above the relegation zone and delivered the club's first league point under Tite. He was suspended from the touchline after his red card against Vasco, with his son and assistant Matheus Bachi taking charge in his place.
Marçal own goal hands Coritiba an anniversary lead
The opener arrived on 22 minutes from the source Coritiba leaned on all night. Josué curled a corner in from the right, Tiago Cóser flicked a header on at the near post, and the ball bounced off Botafogo defender Marçal and into the net.
It was a fitting route for a team that won eight corners despite holding just 43% of the ball. Botafogo had the territory and the passing; Coritiba had the dead balls. For a while, that looked like it might be enough to give the birthday crowd what it came for.
Danilo Santos shrugs off VAR to level for Botafogo
Botafogo believed they were level within four minutes. Danilo Santos put the ball in the net in the 26th minute, but referee Matheus Delgado Candancan cancelled the goal after an on-field VAR review, ruling that Arthur Cabral had pushed defender Jacy in the box during the attack.
The setback lasted eight minutes. On 34, Cristian Medina drove through central midfield, exchanged passes with Cabral and slipped the ball to Danilo Santos on the edge of the penalty area. His first-time left-footed strike deflected off Jacy and wrong-footed goalkeeper Pedro Morisco.
It was Danilo Santos's sixth league goal of the season, in 20 appearances. More tellingly, it answered the disallowed effort in the most direct way available: he simply scored again, this time beyond dispute.
That was the last time the scoreboard moved, with the half-time 1–1 standing to the end. Botafogo kept the ball at 57%, finished with 18 shots to Coritiba's 13 and put five on target to the hosts' three, yet that volume never turned into a winner. Coritiba collected five yellow cards to Botafogo's two, the profile of a side spending long spells reacting rather than dictating.
Fernando Seabra turns his fury on the VAR
Seabra's frustration had a clear target. He protested vehemently that the officials and VAR failed to award Coritiba a penalty when Tiago Cóser was brought down by Marçal in the box during a set-piece sequence — the same Botafogo defender who had already turned the ball into his own net.
Seabra did not soften his words: "E uma total displicência e negligência do VAR em permitir uma injustiça como essa, assim como já aconteceu no jogo contra o Fluminense no Maracanã." He spoke of total carelessness and negligence from the VAR, and of an injustice he placed alongside a grievance from Coritiba's game against Fluminense at the Maracanã.
The home crowd was not interested in handing the blame to the officials. At the final whistle, a packed Couto Pereira directed loud boos and jeers at both the players and Seabra over the prolonged winless streak. In the away section, the travelling Botafogo contingent had made noise throughout and earned praise from the visiting coaching staff.
Two clubs, one point each, and two very different moods heading for the tunnel.
Coritiba and Botafogo stay stuck in a nervous middle
In the table, the draw leaves Coritiba 11th on 39 points and Botafogo 12th on 36. Neither position offers comfort. Coritiba's five-game winless run now equals their worst of the season, and the national press framed their anxiety around reaching the 45-point survival threshold rather than any push towards continental qualification.
Botafogo's picture is starker. They have gone three league games without a win and have only one victory in their last ten, while the national press tied their slump to their worst away campaign of the SAF era. Four points of daylight above the relegation zone is a margin, not a cushion.
Still, the visitors leave Curitiba with something to build on. A point earned without their head coach on the touchline, after a goal had been taken away from them, breaks the losing sequence and proves Danilo Santos remains the side's most reliable outlet in front of goal.
For Coritiba, the questions run deeper. An anniversary that should have been a celebration ended as a verdict on Seabra. He has his complaint with the VAR; the stands have theirs with five games without a win. Only one of those can be fixed by his own team.
Match Information
- Competition: Serie A — Regular Season, Round 30
- Date & Time: Monday 12 October 2026, 21:00 CET
- Venue: Estádio Couto Pereira, Curitiba
- Referee: Matheus Delgado Candancan
