The big hit took place on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday in South America in the fight for promotion to the World Cup in 2026. In it, Argentina beat Brazil away, the fate of the match was decided by a single goal from the second half. However, the intervention of the police against the fans was much more discussed. The duel started with a half-hour delay, after the match the visiting striker Lionel Messi also complained.
The problems started during the anthems, when fans started fighting in the stands and the police had to intervene. The players of Argentina, led by captain Lionel Messi, tried to calm the situation, but to no avail.
The Argentina players went to the cabins and returned when the situation calmed down. “It wasn’t a good start when we saw the police beating people. You start thinking about the family, the people in the stands. Football went by the wayside at that moment,” Messi’s agency, Retuers, quoted him as saying.
“We have already seen it in the final of the Cup of Liberators, when they also took batons to people. And here there were players who had families in the stands,” he declared.
Crazy scenes in the stands at Maracanã between Brazilian police and Argentina fans.
Full footage by @_igorrodriguespic.twitter.com/lF4uzyI8A9
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) November 22, 2023
In any case, the police rejected accusations of excessive intervention, saying that insufficient barriers between Argentina and Brazil fans were to blame for the problems. “Every action causes a reaction. And these matches have a history full of fan violence. First we tried to talk to the fans and only then did we use batons. We did not use rubber bullets or tear gas,” said Colonel Vagner Ferreira in an interview with SporTV.
The president of the International Football Federation FIFA, Gianni Infantino, also condemned the violence. “There is absolutely no place for violence in football, on or off the pitch,” the Swiss official wrote in a statement on Instagram. “Without exception, all players, fans, team members and coaches must be safe and protected in order to play and enjoy football. I call on the competent authorities to ensure that this is respected at all levels,” he added.
When play started, Brazil had the upper hand, but instead the reigning world champions scored. Nicolás Otamendi took care of it in the 63rd minute. Joelinton, who was sent off for shoving an opponent, took the home team’s chance to turn around in the end.
Brazil suffered their third consecutive loss and first ever home defeat in World Cup qualifying. He has seven points in the table and holds the sixth place, which is the last to ensure direct promotion.
The indiscriminate behavior of the Brazilian police towards the Argentine fans did not leave Emiliano Martínez alone!
vs – 0:1
pic.twitter.com/Nu9r7OAItG— CANAL+ Sport CZ/SK (@CANALSportCZ) November 22, 2023
After six rounds, Argentina leads the standings with 15 points. Second place with 13 points belongs to Uruguay, who beat Bolivia 3-0 and won for the third time in a row without conceding a goal.
Darwin Núñez took care of Uruguay’s victory with two goals, and with five hits he is the top scorer in the South American qualification. In other matches, Colombia managed a 1-0 win over Paraguay, Ecuador beat Chile with the same result, and Peru drew 1-1 with Venezuela.
2023-11-22 19:18:45
#Fan #fights #police #crackdown #Argentina #beat #Brazil
