Due to an outbreak of violence that spilled over onto the field, the game played by the ‘Gallos Blancos’ from Querétaro and the ‘Zorros’ from Atlas, for the ninth day of the Clausura-2022 Mexican soccer tournament at the La Corregidora stadium, in the city of Querétaro (downtown), was suspended. No official report of deaths or injuries is yet known.
The 63rd minute of the game was played when in the stands a confrontation began between supporters of both clubs. Given the inability to resolve the facts, the few security elements of the stadium opened the accesses to the field so that people could get to safety with the game underway.
Due to the invasion, the game was stopped immediately, the soccer players went to the locker room area and the field began to fill with people; some people, including families with children, were seeking safety while others took the violence to the pitch with more exchanges of blows.
On one side of the field, the VAR module was vandalized, the monitor was destroyed.
Images spread on social networks showed people on the ground after the brawl.
Press versions assure that several people would have died in the events. A TV Azteca reporter released this version on his Twitter account:
The first unofficial figure is 17 deceased.
– David Medrano Felix (@medranoazteca) March 6, 2022
However, The first report from the Querétaro authorities denied that there were people killed in the riots:
Derived from the events recorded this Saturday afternoon at the Corregidora stadium, the CEPC reports that so far there are no reports of deceased persons, 22 injured persons, 9 of them transferred to the General Hospital and of these, two of them seriously .
— Coordination of Civil Protection of the State of Qro (@PCIVILQRO) March 6, 2022
“Due to the conditions in the stadium, the central referee determines to suspend the match with the score: Gallos Blancos de Querétaro 0-1 Atlas,” Liga MX (Mexican first division) reported. “The resumption date will be announced in the next few hours.”
Mikel Arriola, executive president of Liga MX, launched a message rejecting these events on the social network Twitter: “Those responsible for the lack of security in the stadium will be punished exemplarily. The safety of our players and fans is a priority! ”
For its part, the Atlas club demanded in a statement an investigation of the authorities and the league “determining the responsibilities of those who are involved and applying the full force of the law.”
The governor of Querétaro, Mauricio Kuri, said on Twitter that “the company that owns Gallos and institutions must answer for the facts.” “I have given instructions to apply the law with all its consequences,” he added.
SPORTS
With AFP
