Fan dies in clash at game in Argentina

A fan killed by cardiac arrest is the tragic preliminary assessment of the serious incidents that on Thursday caused the suspension of the game between Gimnasia y Esgrima and Boca Juniors, at the Carmelo Zerillo stadium, in La Plata, by the Professional League-2022 of Argentine football.

The game was suspended in the 9th minute of the first half due to serious disturbances that took place outside the venue that affected the development of the match played at the Carmelo Zerillo stadium, about 50 kilometers south of Buenos Aires.

“I confirm that there is one person dead. This person died of cardiac arrest,” said Sergio Berni, security minister for the province of Buenos Aires.

Authorities at the San Martín de La Plata hospital confirmed the death of César Regueiro, 57, due to cardiac arrest while being transferred from the Gimnasia stadium to a health post.

A cameraman from sports channel TyC was wounded by rubber bullets and dozens of fans had to be taken to hospitals due to tear gas, according to local media reports.

The game was canceled until further notice “due to lack of guarantees”, according to referee Hernán Mastrángelo, minutes after the players and coaching staff had retired to the locker room.

“The reality is that we didn’t have the physical integrity to continue the match, it affected everyone on the field, the air became unbreathable. The situation got out of control and there were no guarantees of safety”, added the referee.

The incidents began with violent crossings on the outskirts of the stadium, when police repressed fans struggling to enter an already packed stadium with rubber bullets and tear gas.

The match was the most important on date 23, four days from the final, with Gimnasia playing their last chance to fight for the title at home, while Boca looked for a victory to return to the top of the championship.

“What was going to be a party ended up in this, what happened hurts all of us, it’s horrible and we’re sorry,” Boca Juniors coach Hugo Ibarra told reporters.

“It’s Too Bitter”

With the stadium packed, the incidents started as people kept arriving determined to enter, many of them with valid tickets, according to local authorities.

Detonations were heard in the stadium and gas smoke quickly reached the playing field. The players, the referee and the members of the coaching staff had to leave the field quickly, while the fans entered the field in search of an exit and fresher air, since the accesses were closed.

In Argentine football, Liga matches are played without the visiting public, which did not prevent some members of the Boca team from helping rival fans with water.

“The first thing I saw was people starting to come out of the stands and I started to feel what the gas causes. I thought about my family and I started to worry. I’m angry about everything that happened,” said Nicolás Contín, player do Gimnasia, while carrying her young son in her arms hours after the game was suspended, still in the locker room.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA) issued a statement in which it “strongly repudiates the publicly known events that took place today in the vicinity of the Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata stadium” and expressed “its commitment to continue working to eradicate this class of episodes that tarnish the football party”.

Meanwhile, Eduardo Aparicio, head of the agency that prevents violence in stadiums in Argentina, lamented the incidents.

“It’s very bitter, everything is under investigation, under the actions of the police. The incidents started from the outside in, around the stadium there were 10,000 people wanting to enter, some had tickets, some didn’t. Everyone saw how the pitch was, no there was room for a pin”.

“The game will not be played (on Friday) at all,” he added.

According to statistics from the NGO Salvemos al Fútbol, ​​clashes inside and outside stadiums have produced more than 300 deaths in Argentina since football became professional in the South American country in the 1930s, although two-thirds of the deaths have occurred since the 1930s. nineteen ninety.

Before the violence unleashed on the outskirts of the stadium in La Plata, two games were played, with Argentinos Juniors winning 4-0 away from Lanús and Huracán 1-0 over Talleres de Córdoba.