South American qualifiers: pitched battle in the Brazil-Argentina of Maracaná
The albiceleste team won 0-1. There were also incidents with the Police in the match between Peru and Venezuela, which ended with a 1-1 draw.
Fanáticos de Argentina en su partido contra Brasil | Cordon Press- © Leco Viana/TheNEWS2 vía ZUMA Press Wire)
Argentina beat Brazil 0-1 at the Maracaná stadium (Rio de Janeiro). The victory of the albiceleste meant the first defeat for the Canarinha at home in a qualification for the World Cup. Nicolás Otamendi scored the goal in the 62nd minute that sealed the victory.
However, the match was marked by a pitched battle that took place in the stadium and caused the match to be delayed for half an hour from the stipulated start. The situation was generated by the attacks of the Brazilian Police on the Argentine fans. This caused Lionel Messi to withdraw from the game until the incident was resolved.
According to information from the local media, it all started with a confrontation between fans of both teams in the stands that led to the intervention of the authorities who then repressed the Argentine fans.
Videos were published on social networks in which uniformed officers are seen hitting fans with batons and attendees throwing chairs at the police officers. El Clarín of Argentina also indicated that injuries were reported.
Attacks also in Peru-Venezuela
Meanwhile, in the match between Peru and Venezuela that ended with a score of 1-1, there were also disturbances that ended with the Peruvian Police pushing several Vinotinto players. From early on, there was already tension in the streets due to the large influx of Venezuelan fans to the game and it intensified when the authorities reported that they would carry out an immigration control at the gates of the stadium.
The police repression and pushing of the Venezuelan players occurred after several of the soccer players approached the stands to greet the fans and give them the team's shirts.
Regarding the incident, soccer player Nahuel Ferraresi assured that the police attacked him. "It's something that shouldn't happen. They hit me twice and broke me a little. These are things that should not happen in a football game. They also started hitting people. It's sad" said Ferraresi while explaining that the South American Football Confederation and the Venezuelan Football Federation are already aware of what happened.
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