River Plate Players Reportedly Hit by Pepper Spray in Match vs. Boca Juniors; Match Abandoned
By Mike Cardillo
Bitter Buneos Aires rivals River Plate and Boca Junior played Thursday night in the Argentina capital in the Copa Libertadores. The game was halted at halftime as the River Plate players were apparently hit with some sort of pepper spray while trying to return to the field, according to reports. It was an ugly, choatic scene as you can see in the video above.
River Plate players attacked with pepper spray by Boca fans during #Superclasico. They're blinded and breaking out in skin rashes.
— Dan Colasimone (@DanColasimone) May 15, 2015
According to Marcelo Gallardo, somebody opened a gap in the inflatable tunnel in front of the stand.
— Sam Kelly (@HEGS_com) May 15, 2015
Earlier in the day Argentina suspended all domestic professional soccer matches after a 21-year-old player died from head injuries sustained after an opponent pushed him into a concrete wall. The Copa Libertadores is a continental competition run by CONMEBOL, South America’s governing body. In 2014 a reported 15 people died in Argentina due to soccer-related violence.
The match was eventually suspended more than an hour after it was supposed to resume. Police appeared to collect River Plate shirts as evidence.
Later on television footage appeared to show someone cutting a hole in the security netting:
River led after the first leg of the quarterfinal 1-0.
Boca fans used a drone to mock River’s recent relegation during the pregame.