Boca Juniors to appeal decision to host Copa Libertadores final in Madrid

The saga continues

As the chaotic mess that is this season’s Copa Libertadores final continues to unravel, we can at least say there has been some progress in developments.

After CONMBEOL decided the game could not be played in Argentina due to the threat of fan violence that we saw outside El Monumental last weekend, the South American governing body have now announced that the match will be staged at the Santiago Bernabéu in Madrid – with both sets of fans allowed to attend.

CONMEBOL president Alejandro Domínguez also said: "The barras won't even dream about getting in."

Sure, they won't mate. You've got them under control pic.twitter.com/frNbwz72UI

— GOLAZO (@golazoargentino) November 29, 2018

Real Madrid’s stadium will be the first outside South America to host a Copa Libertadores match, and while it is in unique circumstances, some are concerned that it could be the first of many instances in which finals take place thousands of miles from each team’s ground.

Final de la CONMEBOL Libertadores 2018 se jugará el domingo 9 de diciembre en el Santiago Bernabéu de Madrid.
🔸https://t.co/qZIHEpxGQw pic.twitter.com/pF2xxY74cZ

— CONMEBOL.com (@CONMEBOL) November 29, 2018

Boca Juniors are not happy with the decision and will appeal to CONMEBOL’s Chamber of Appeals and, eventually, the Arbitration Court of Sport.

Comunicado de prensa 👉 https://t.co/MU5QW2Kms1 pic.twitter.com/mKDII4k2u7

— Boca Juniors (@BocaJrsOficial) November 29, 2018

In a statement on their website, Boca said:

“Following the decisions of the Disciplinary Court of Conmebol, Boca Juniors informs that it does not share their reasoning and considers it clearly contrary to the Regulations and jurisprudential precedents, for which the corresponding appeals will be filed before the Chamber of Appeals of the Conmebol and, eventually, before the Arbitration Court of Sport.

“The club insists that, having been proven with conclusive evidence, the brutal attack on the team bus suffered on November 24, 2018, in the vicinity of the entrance gate of the Monumental stadium, there is no other sanction than the one requested in our presentations.

“The main objective of Boca Juniors is still to comply with the Conmebol regulations, known by all the clubs that compete in the Copa Libertadores de América. In particular, in the terms of Art. 8, paragraphs 1 and 2; Art. 13.2 clauses b), e) and f); and Art. 18 paragraph I) of the Disciplinary Regulations of Conmebol, considering the seriousness of the conducts and the recidivist character of the organising club of the event.

“In this way, Boca Juniors requests that the decisions comply with the regulation and that it be applied to all clubs equally, while ratifying that it will exhaust all jurisdictional avenues.”