Libertadores ‘superclasico’ final delayed following River fans’ attack on Boca bus

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Saturday’s “superclasico” Copa Libertadores final second leg was delayed an hour after Boca Juniors players were affected by tear gas and broken glass after their team bus came under attack from rival River Plate fans on the way to the stadium in Buenos Aires.

Tournament organizers Conmebol, the South American football governing body, said the match at River’s Monumental stadium between the local arch rivals would be delayed an hour to 6pm (2100 GMT) following the bus attack.

Local television stations reported Boca were pushing for the game to be called off.

Boca players were left coughing and teary eyed after River fans pelted their team bus, smashing windows, with “pepper spray, sticks and stones” ahead of the Argentine giants’ “superclasico” Libertadores title decider.

“They attacked us from everywhere,” said Boca captain Pablo Perez, who was visibly affected by the gas.

“They threw pepper spray, sticks and stones. It came in the bus from everywhere,” added central defender Carlos Izquierdoz.

Television pictures showed Boca players emerge from the bus clearing their throats and with eyes streaming from the effect of the gas.

In others, Boca players were being attended to by medical staff in their dressing room at River’s Monumental stadium in the upmarket Nunez neighborhood of Buenos Aires.

Local television stations said some players suffered cuts from the broken glass.

The attack came despite the bus travelling with heavy police protection ahead of the second leg of the local derby between the two most popular teams in the country — dubbed the biggest club match in the history of Argentine football.

Television pictures from the entrance to the Boca dressing room showed the entire party of players and staff affected by the gas.

A Boca official told the press that the pepper spray came from the police trying to disperse River fans.

– ‘Overwhelmed by vandalism’ –

“There was a lack of control in the last streets close to the Monumental. The police were overwhelmed by all the vandalism and had to disperse the River fans with tear gas,” said the unnamed official.

“Because of the wind and the broken windows, it entered the bus.”

The final of the Copa Libertadores, the equivalent of Europe’s Champions League, is finely poised at 2-2 following the first leg at Boca’s Bombonera stadium two weeks ago.

It is the first time ever it has been contested by two Argentine sides.

from World Soccer Talk https://ift.tt/2QkSou8