Boto opens up on Flamengo v Medellín incident: “Players cried…”” | OneFootball

What did José Boto, Flamengo’s technical football director, say after the match against Independiente Medellín (COL)?

José Boto gave an exclusive interview to Coluna do Fla when Flamengo returned to the hotel in Medellín, Colombia. In the conversation, the club’s technical football director described the scenes of violence inside Atanasio Girardot Stadium and also said that some players even cried because of the strong smell of tear gas.

— We had not proposed playing behind closed doors. We saw what the press was saying, that there were problems between Medellín’s directors and supporters. From the start, we realized there were no safety conditions —, he said, before concluding:

— Right at the start, they were throwing flares toward Rossi, there were no barriers at all and not enough police officers. There was tear gas, the players even started crying… It was obvious the match couldn’t be played. But let it be clear that we made ourselves available to play if there is a guarantee of safety —, José Boto concluded in an interview with Coluna do Fla.

WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FLAMENGO VS INDEPENDIENTE MEDELLÍN LIBERTADORES MATCH?

Atanasio Girardot Stadium turned into a war zone at the opening whistle. That is because, in the very first minutes of the match, Medellín supporters began protesting by throwing explosives, setting fire to the stands, and trying to invade the pitch.

Given what happened, both the Flamengo players and the Medellín players went back to the locker room. However, after a long discussion between the clubs and the entities responsible for stadium security, Conmebol decided to cancel the match.

WHAT NOW?

With the match canceled, Flamengo is now waiting for confirmation of the three points from the match against Independiente Medellín. After that, the delegation will leave Colombia later tonight for Porto Alegre, where they will face Grêmio on Sunday (10) in the Brasileirão.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.