Female surfer punched in head by male rival after fighting over same wave
A professional surfer has been slammed after being caught on camera repeatedly punching a woman who was arguing with his friend.
It happened after Sara Taylor clashed with Brazilian Adriano Portela's friend while riding waves in Indonesia.
The duo were both surfing in Uluwatu, south-west Bali, on Wednesday when they caught the same wave at the same time and an argument broke out about who had the right of way.
As the pair mounted their boards an altercation broke out before Portela bailed and left the wave to Ms Taylor, MailOnline reports.
As Ms Taylor was heading to shore she was confronted by Portela's friend and fellow professional surfer João Paulo 'JP' Azevedo who launched a vicious barrage of punches on the woman.
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A clip of the incident shows Azevedo paddling over to the female surfer and punching her in the back of the head before they swam back towards land.
The Brazilian pair, joined by their entourage, then set after Sara and her friend Charlie McCharg who was recording the incident.
Sara Taylor was attacked by Brazilian JP Azevedo after they were surfing in Bali (appleshift4/Instagram)Azevedo can be heard screaming "don't film me" at the Brit before assaulting Ms Taylor again.
The group of eight men can then be seen surrounding the women, with one appearing to kick Ms McCharg's motorbike and push Ms Taylor.
Ms Taylor shouts at the men to "go away" before the clip cuts out.
Since the clip was posted online, titans of the surfing community have spoken out and called for action against the Brazilian group.
11-time World Surf League champion Kelly Slater and Australian pro surfer Felicity Palmateer were among those condemning the men's "disgusting" behaviour.
The violent attack came after Ms Taylor and JP's friend and fellow Brazilian Adriano Portela clashed while riding a wave (appleshift4/Instagram)'"This is so disgusting and actually terrifying," Palmateer wrote.
"I hope you’re alright. Get these guys deported ASAP!"
Tagging friends who live in Bali in his post, Kelly Slater wrote: "Do you guys know these guys? What's the deal?
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"Get this guy [Azevedo] sent home where he belongs."
Brazilian professional surfer Filipe Toledo offered his apologies and sent his well wishes to Sara and Charlie.
He said: "I’m sorry that happened to you guys!
"Hope you guys are ok! Don’t stress with people with this kind of energy! They don’t last long, life will come back to them!"
A group of eight men surrounded Ms Taylor and her British friend (appleshift4/Instagram)While he has not competed on the World Surf League, Azevedo is a star surfer in Brazil, having won titles in the national Espírito Santo competition in the beginner, child, junior, and professional divisions.
He was invited to Indonesia to make a surfing documentary in 2019 and, despite filming being delayed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he fell in love with the area and relocated permanently.
On Thursday, his sponsor Quebra Onda announced they were splitting with him as a result of the attack.
A spokesman said: "After becoming aware of the unfortunate events that have occurred, reiterates that we repudiate all kinds of violence being mainly against women.
"Having this type of behavior inadmissible, we inform you that we have made the immediate decision to end our partnership with the athlete JP Azevedo."
Azevedo closed his social media accounts following the incident, but told a Brazilian outlet he attacked Ms Taylor as she "looked like a man".
Azevedo, who lives in Bali, claims he punched the surfer as he thought she looked like a man (appleshift4/Instagram)He said: "I didn’t know she was a woman. She surfed like a man, dressed like a man.
"She was riding everyone’s wave, she wasn’t respecting anyone. She went with my friend’s wave and pushed my friend out of the loop.
"I went to ask why she had done that to my friend. She went by and threw water in my face, cursed me. And then I lost my mind due to momentary stress and ended up attacking her.
"I lost my reason. After I attacked her I saw that it was a woman. She was wearing a T-shirt and I couldn’t see her bra. Soon after I apologised, a friend of mine came paddling up and I said, ‘Calm down, it’s a woman'."
In a video posted on YouTube, Azevedo claimed he was the victim.
He said the video posted online did not show the whole story and that its publication put him in a "dangerous position".
Sara was repeatedly punched in the head after clashing with the Brazilians (salad_tray/Instagram)"I saw a surfer push my friend and went to ask [them] why [they did it] and got punched on my face and then I retaliated," he said.
"Then I realised it was a woman. Then I got out of the sea to apologise.
"They took my board inside the car. I went to get my board back defending myself from attacks.. And in between attacks I also attacked."
Meanwhile, Portela fired up his social media on Thursday to issue a lengthy statement apologising about the ordeal.
He said: "I would like to make it clear for everyone what happened.
"I have not hit or touched anyone. I spoke and acted with anger and disrespect.
"I’m deeply ashamed and sorry for how I acted."
Former British surfing champion Laura Crane weighed into the argument, saying: "Unfortunately after that a punch was thrown in the water, however not by me and I was not involved in it happening.
"I continued surfing and noticed a fight between the girl who pushed me out of the wave, her girlfriend and my friend who threw the punch in the water.
"I swam out of the water to see what was happening and not fully understanding what had happened I lost my temper and spoke with disrespect towards the girls and acted in a disgusting way that I'm very ashamed of."
A Bali Police spokesperson confirmed to local media Ms Taylor and Ms McCharg had reported the matter to South Kuta Police.
Spokesman Stefanus Satake Bayu Setianto said: "[Taylor] suffered bruises on the back of her head and felt nauseous.
"[McCharg] suffered bruises on her legs."
Bayu said both Portela and Azevedo live in Uluwatu and the matter would be investigated by Bali Water Police.
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