Palmeiras president caught sunbathing hours after relegation

 RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- The president of Brazilian football giants Palmeiras, Arnaldo Tirone, sparked controversy¹ on Monday after being caught sunbathing² on a Rio beach just hours after his club was relegated³ to the second division.

A photo of Tirone, shirtless and fidgeting with his mobile phone on Rio's trendy Leblon beach, was widely circulated on Facebook and Twitter on Monday.

The image drew the ire of thousands of Palmeiras fans who flooded social media sites to voice their anger.

Tirone, who initially⁴ denied the reports, later admitted to UOL he had in fact spent time on the beach on Monday.

"When I was first asked I got a shock and that's why I denied being in Rio," Tirone said. "But then I realized I had done nothing wrong."

"I went to the game, suffered with the team and today I had a meeting in Rio. I went for a swim in the sea to release some stress. What's wrong with spending some time at the beach?"

Palmeiras, Brazil's most successful club with eight top-flight titles, dropped to the second tier for only the second time on Sunday night after fellow relegation⁵ contender Portuguesa climbed to safety with a 2-2 draw against Gremio.

It came after Sao Paulo-based Palmeiras drew 1-1 with Flamengo on Saturday in the city of Volta Redonda, 130km from Rio.

"Did we need any proof about this guy? He should be on the team bus with the rest of the players and coaches, not on the beach. He has no shame," one Palmeiras fan wrote.

Another said: "If people we were still wondering how Palmeiras went down, now you have your answer."

1 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

2 sunbathing   

n.日光浴

参考例句：

• tourists sunbathing on the beach 在海滩上沐浴着阳光的游客
• We've been sunbathing on the beach. 我们一直在海滩上晒日光浴。

3 relegated   

v.使降级( relegate的过去式和过去分词 )；使降职；转移；把…归类

参考例句：

• She was then relegated to the role of assistant. 随后她被降级做助手了。
• I think that should be relegated to the garbage can of history. 我认为应该把它扔进历史的垃圾箱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 initially   

adv.最初，开始

参考例句：

• The ban was initially opposed by the US.这一禁令首先遭到美国的反对。
• Feathers initially developed from insect scales.羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来。

5 relegation   

n.驱逐，贬黜；降级

参考例句：

• Liaoning team lost this game, is still deeply avoid relegation zone. 辽宁队本场失利后，仍然深陷保级区。 来自互联网
• In society, relegation is based on your income. 社会上的规类是以你的收入为基准。 来自互联网