Argentine court releases Chilean fans after stadium violence | OneFootball

The Argentine judiciary released, this Friday (22), more than a hundred Chileans detained after violent clashes with Argentine fans during a Copa Sudamericana football match last Wednesday.

Supporters of Independiente and Universidad de Chile faced off with knives, sticks, and stun grenades inside the Libertadores de América stadium, in a pitched battle that left 19 injured, two of whom remain in serious condition.

According to the judicial document accessed by AFP, the release order was issued at midnight on Thursday and covers the 104 Chileans held in various police stations in the province of Buenos Aires.

Some, who lost their clothes and documents amid the chaos, had to be assisted by the consulate. By land or air, most began their return to their country this Friday, according to Chilean diplomatic sources.

“In the stands I was beaten with sticks and iron bars, they stole everything,” Ignacio Castro, a 38-year-old Chilean psychologist, told AFP in front of the Chilean consulate in Buenos Aires.

“When I went down to ask the police for help, I was taken to the hospital, stitched up, and detained like the others for damages, disorder, and injuries,” he added.

Confirming the release of the fans, Chilean President Gabriel Boric advocated working to end violence in football, a problem that has persistently affected the sport in South America.

“We will continue working to eradicate violence in stadiums and, at the same time, defend the rights of our compatriots,” said Boric, who on Thursday sent his Interior Minister to Buenos Aires to oversee the case.

Barbarity

The brutal clash occurred during the second leg of the Copa Sudamericana round of 16, which was played in Avellaneda, south of Buenos Aires, and was canceled at the 48th minute.

The chaos began when fans of the Chilean team threw sticks, bottles, chairs, and even toilets from the upper popular stands, hitting the lower section where Independiente fans were, who responded with violence, as reported by an AFP journalist.

This Friday, Chilean Interior Minister Álvaro Elizalde visited those still hospitalized at Fiorito Hospital in Avellaneda and announced the signing of a memorandum with Argentina to prevent violence in football.

There, two men of Chilean nationality remained in serious condition, one with cranial trauma and the other with a cervical fracture, according to the report accessed by AFP. Both underwent surgery.

One of them, in a more critical state, jumped from the stands when he was cornered by Independiente fans. According to a Chilean official, a covering cushioned his fall, preventing his death.

Request to close the stadium

The Independiente stadium, which with seven titles is the most awarded in the Copa Libertadores, the main club tournament in the Americas, was closed until the forensic investigations ordered by the judiciary are completed.

“The prosecutor requested the closure because there are hepatic stains (blood stains) in the stands and forensic work still needs to be done,” said Buenos Aires Security Minister Javier Alonso to Radio10 this Friday.

The stands where the clashes took place show the scale of the fight: debris, stones, ripped-out chairs, iron bars, and pieces of masonry torn from the bathrooms to be thrown.

“Yesterday (Thursday) there was very important identification work. There are about 20 legal actions,” said Alonso, without going into detail.

“There are people who must be held accountable because there was a security company that should have been present and was not. The Conmebol coordinator was warned three times that the match should be suspended and he refused,” accused the minister.

According to Conmebol, security for the match was the responsibility of Independiente, and it was questioned by several voices, including Boric, who denounced an “unacceptable lynching of Chileans.”

Awaiting notice

The brutal images of the clash, one of the worst in recent years in Latin American football, have gone around the world.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino described “exemplary punishments” on Thursday. Conmebol, which promised to act with “the utmost firmness” against those responsible, is evaluating possible sanctions.

The penalties could include the disqualification of one or both clubs, something that has not happened since 2015, when Boca Juniors were eliminated in the round of 16 of the Copa Libertadores due to incidents in an Argentine superclásico against River Plate.

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