May 18 – Argentine giants Boca Juniors have been thrown out of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s equivalent of the Champions League, after its fans sprayed players from rivals River Plate with an irritant substance during their last-16 tie last week.
A communique posted on the website of CONMEBOL revealed that Boca would also receive a $200,000 fine, be forced to play its next four home Libertadores matches behind closed doors and be banned from taking fans to its next four away games in the competition.
The incident happened as players emerged for the second half of a finely balanced two-legged match with the score at 0-0 and River Plate leading 1-0 from the first leg.
Players and staff were visibly shaken and River defender Funes Mori told AFP: “I can’t see, I can’t see. I am burning. This is not a war!”
Four River Plate players were taken to hospital following the half-time incident and the game was abandoned. As River Plate players left the pitch, Boca fans pelted them with missiles and objects from the stands.
Argentine football shows little sign of solving an almost systemic problem of fan violence. A report from the football reform group, Salvemos del Futbol, found that an average of five people died each year from fan-related violence in Argentina between 2000 and 2009, according to Reuters.
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