Romario, who was axed by Zagallo 10 days before the start of the World Cup in June because of a nagging calf muscle injury, was also forced to remove a cartoon of assistant coach Zico, depicted with a toilet roll in his hand and a forlorn expression on his face, from another door.

Television pictures showed Justice officials arriving at the bar, situated in a beachside suburb favoured by soccer players and other celebrities, to order the removal of the offending cartoons. The entire doors were taken away, leaving two of the toilets temporarily without any doors at all!They also showed a copy of Zagallo's lawsuit, which stated that "the cartoons are personal revenge for him being dropped from the national team."Fingers of suspicion pointed at Zico, an old Flamengo favourite who has publiclycriticised Romario in the past for an unprofessional attitude.

Romario, who wept openly when he was dropped, has continued to be hampered by muscular problems since the World Cup, playing less than half a dozen full games and scoring only two goals. On August 12, he limped out of a Brazilian championship match for his club Flamengo before halftime clutching his thigh and missed their game at the weekend.