Riots and chaos: “Superclásico” canceled

The game was first postponed for a few hours and then completely canceled for Saturday. According to a statement from the South American association CONMEBOL, the second leg of the final will now take place on Sunday.

Before the city duel between the two traditional football clubs from Buenos Aires, originally scheduled for 21 p.m. (CET) on Saturday, a group of River fans attacked the visiting team's bus with stones when it arrived at the Monumental Stadium, despite heavy police protection.

According to local media reports, tear gas was released onto the bus as police tried to control the situation. Television images showed several Boca players, including former Premier League star Carlos Tevez, coughing and with watery eyes getting off the bus, which had several broken windows.

Boca players visibly injured on the way to the stadium. © APA/afp / JUAN MABROMATA

“We are forced” According to media reports, Boca Juniors had immediately asked for the game to be postponed, but initially the kick-off was only postponed twice. “We don’t feel capable of playing the game. But we are forced to play,” Tevez complained. “They attacked us from everywhere,” said Boca captain Pablo Perez, who was taken to hospital with cuts and an eye injury but returned to the stadium with a bandaged left eye. Boca's general secretary Christian Gribauldo had previously said that other players also suffered cuts in the attack.

However, in a written statement, doctors from the South American association CONMEBOL said that the players' injuries were only "superficial". Therefore, “from a medical point of view there is no reason for the game to be canceled”.

Extreme rivalry Due to the extreme rivalry between the two clubs, the historic first final duel in the South American equivalent of the Champions League between the two traditional clubs is particularly explosive. Since 2013, visiting fans have not been allowed into the stadium throughout Argentina due to numerous riots. The first leg at the Boca Stadium ended 2-2.

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Riots and chaos: “Superclásico” canceled

After an attack on the Boca Juniors team bus by fans of arch-rivals River Plate, the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final was canceled on Saturday.

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