FOUR-TIME Brazilian champions Cruzeiro have been relegated from the top flight for the first time in their 98-year history.
Cruzeiro have endured a torrid campaign and needed to beat Palmeiras on the final day of the Brasileirao season and hope Ceara fell to defeat at Botafogo, but neither result went their way.
Ze Rafael and Dudu scored for Palmeiras as they won 2-0 in Belo Horizonte, while Thiago Galhardo’s penalty cancelled out Marcos Vinicius’ opener to earn Ceara a 1-1 draw.
The referee ordered both sets off players off the field late on in Cruzeiro’s clash due to unsavoury scenes in the Mineirao stands, with supporters ripping out seats and setting off smoke bombs in protest at their team’s plight.
Cruzeiro, who won the Copa Libertadores in 1976 and 1997 and were Brazilian champions as recently as 2014, lost their last five games of the campaign to finish 17th, three points behind Ceara.
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