The last of the events, which puts the finger on the sore of this wound on the continent, have been the acts of violence that ended this Saturday with the invasion of the field of play by the fans of the Querétaro and Atlas teams, during the ninth day of the Clausura tournament of Mexican soccer.
The fight between fans of both teams, started in the stands, grew, ended up on the field, and caused the players to take refuge in the changing rooms and the referee to end the match.
The state governor, Mauricio Kuri, indicated that 26 people were hospitalized, 24 men and two women.
“It is a tragedy because, although there are no deaths, we cannot say that it is not a tragedy and we cannot allow it to become politicized,” said the state president.
In Panama, on February 24, the Disciplinary Committee of the Panamanian Soccer League (LPF) ruled the sanctions against the Tauro FC and CD Plaza Amador clubs, after their supporters staged a brawl, in which one person was injured.
BRAZIL, PARAGUAY AND URUGUAY ALSO SUFFER FROM FOOTBALL VIOLENCE
In Brazil, a general fight between fans of Atlético Mineiro and Cruzeiro left at least one dead and one wounded by a bullet on Sunday hours before the derby between the two main clubs in the Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte, police sources reported.
According to the Militarized Police of the state of Minas Gerais, about 50 fans of both clubs staged a premeditated and organized brawl through social networks.
During the fight, a 25-year-old Cruzeiro fan was shot in the abdomen and admitted to a hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery, but could not resist the seriousness of his injuries and died.
The confrontation also left another man wounded by a bullet, a motorcyclist who was passing through the place at the time of the fight, although he is out of danger, the authorities said.
And this is not the only episode of violence recorded in Brazilian football recently.
On February 24, two Bahia players were injured after an explosive device was thrown at the team bus on its way to the Arena Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador.
Just over a week later, a group of Paraná fans invaded the Vila Capanema stadium in Curitiba, five minutes from the end of the match against Francisco Beltrao’s Uniao, who were losing 1-3, with the intention of attacking the players of his team, who reacted quickly and was able to take shelter in time in the changing rooms.
And in another recent violent situation, the Gremio bus was stoned by fans of Internacional, its closest rival from Porto Alegre, also leaving several players from the squad injured, including Paraguayan Mathías Villasanti and Colombian Jaminton Campaz.
Also on Saturday, but in Asunción, Cerro Porteño fans staged a fight in the North Grandstand of the General Pablo Roja stadium. The incident culminated in nine injuries due to “sharp elements.”
At the moment, the Paraguayan Football Association has not issued any opinion on the events, although it is rumored that the stadium could be suspended.
In Uruguay, the fifth date of the Opening Tournament was suspended this Saturday after the threats received by the referees during the matches between Nacional-Torque and Peñarol-Danubio.
The Uruguayan Association of Soccer Referees (AUDAF) made the decision after a meeting in which this instance was reached by consensus.
“AUDAF does not and will not admit any type of statement, threat or aggression involving our associates or our activity,” the document adds.
WORLD FOOTBALL REACTIONS
Given the cascade of violent events in the fields of Latin American soccer, the president of the South American Soccer Confederation (Conmebol), said on Twitter that “We extend our solidarity to Mexican soccer and our condolences for the victims of the confrontation in the stands. Football is synonymous with peace, unity and tolerance. Let’s not allow violence to destroy this beautiful sport.”
Similarly, FIFA declared itself “dismayed by the tragic incident that occurred at the La Corregidora stadium in the city of Querétaro during the match between Querétaro and Atlas” and adds that “the acts of violence at the La Corregidora stadium are unacceptable and intolerable ”.
For his part, the president of the Mexican soccer league, Mikel Arriola, announced that the visiting teams’ supporters will no longer be allowed to enter the stadiums in the championship matches.
Arriola also mentioned that while the investigations are being carried out, the Querétaro plaza was disabled.
And, just a week ago, Corinthians striker Willian Borges asked the Brazilian authorities to act against violence in football.
“I hope that the authorities can, once and for all, do what they have to do. We enter the field, we do what we can, but we cannot control these types of situations, ”said the Brazilian winger in a video shared on his social networks.
Borges, 33, denounced that violence in football is a “very serious issue” that even today “many people see as something normal” and complained of the lack of forcefulness when it comes to punishing offenders.
“Nothing is wrong with them. They continue doing, doing, doing and Brazilian soccer tolerates it, the authorities tolerate that. And if we tolerate it, we can’t complain. That has to stop,” he said.
VIOLENCE WITHOUT CONSEQUENCES
And just as Borges denounces that the authorities in Brazil do not act, a case of this ineffectiveness was the suspension last October of a match between América de Cali and Atlético Nacional de Colombia that the Verdolaga team won 2-0 and in which the fans of América entered and invaded the field of play to threaten the red players who, to their astonishment, had to take refuge in the dressing rooms.
Neither the bar, nor the club, nor the stadium suffered any kind of punishment.
