It was a weekend to forget for Argentine football
Saturday’s Copa Libertadores final was supposed to be the ‘final to end all finals’. In unique circumstances, Boca Juniors and River Plate were set to meet in the last ever final of the competition played in a home and away format. But it never happened.
Violence swept the streets as emotions overspilled, and Argentina exposed the dark side of its football fandom to the world. The Boca bus was attacked, leaving the players in no fit state to play. Ultimately, the River fans who stepped over the line prevented the team they claim to love more than life itself from winning the most prestigious South American trophy. They may still, but the occasion will not be the same.
Videos of fans outside El Monumental flooded social media, with one standing out like a sore thumb. That video showed a mother and daughter, dressed head to toe in River gear, strapping flares to the daughter’s body, in order to sneak them into the stadium undetected.
River fans using a LITTLE GIRL to pass flares to the stadium, how shameless are people man, makes me sick. pic.twitter.com/q07KZ6dZD8
— Galu 🇦🇷 (@PSGalu) November 24, 2018
European fans on social media gasped in awe at the lengths that fans would go to, the rules they were willing to break, in order to generate a bit more atmosphere.
The mother in the video has now been arrested, as reported by AS. She will be tried by the courts and is expected to face a prison sentence of between two and six years.
The lead prosecutor, Adriana Bellavigna, has taken charge of the case and begun the investigation with the city of Buenos Aires’ Judicial Investigation Body.
Using specialised software and with detailed reviews of social network activity, they were able to identify the woman – with the watch on her wrist being a key factor in identifying her.
CONMEBOL and local authorities are currently trying to find a date that the second leg of the final can be played, but with a G20 summit arriving in Buenos Aires this week, time, space and resources are limited.
