SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazilian police investigated at least three soccer fans Tuesday after a pig’s head was thrown onto the field during a league match between bitter rivals Corinthians and Palmeiras.

Corinthians beat Palmeiras 2-0 on Monday night at the Arena NeoQuimica in Sao Paulo, but the big talking point was the incident in the 39th minute when the score was still 0-0.

The pig’s head was thrown onto the pitch as Palmeiras prepared to take a corner, and Corinthians forward Yuri Alberto ran to throw it away.

“I almost broke my leg. I thought it was a pillow, something like that,” Alberto told reporters after the match. “I tried to kick hard but it was a pig’s head, I almost hurt my leg.”

Investigator César Saad told reporters that the pig’s head was brought to the stadium a few hours before the match. Two men have been questioned over the incident and police are still looking for a third, who was sitting next to them during the game.

The local fans were insulting Palmeiras supporters like pigs since 1969when a car accident killed two Corinthians players during the season and Palmeiras was the only club that did not accept the team’s request to sign two new players.

Later, Palmeiras adopted the pig as its mascot.

The incident is reminiscent of what happened in Spain in 2002, when Barcelona fans threw a pig’s head onto the pitch during a ‘clasico’ game when former club striker Luis Figo returned to the Camp Nou stadium as a Real Madrid player .

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