Football riots in Brazil
Argentina’s goalkeeper tries to snatch batons from police officers
Status: 22.11.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Emiliano Martinez on the way to the stands
What: REUTERS
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Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil gets off to a late start. The reason is violence in the stands. The situation escalates there. The police use batons against fans. Goalkeeper Martinez doesn’t like that.
The Argentine national soccer team around its superstar Lionel Messi prevailed against Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers. Their victory in the special duel is overshadowed by riots that make headlines around the world. Argentina won the game 1-0 at the legendary Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. It was the first defeat of the Brazilian national team in the history of World Cup qualification in front of a home crowd. Even before kick-off, violence in the stands caused a delay.
Nicolás Otamendi headed the final score from a corner in the 63rd minute. Messi complained of pain in his right thigh twice in the first half and received treatment on the pitch. In the 78th minute he was finally substituted for Ángel Di María. The Seleção played the last few minutes outnumbered after Brazilian striker Joelinton was sent off with a red card for hitting Rodrigo De Paul in the face in the 81st minute.
Police officers use batons to try to contain a fight between Brazilian and Argentine fans
Quelle: dpa/Silvia Izquierdo
There were violent riots before the game began. Fans of the two teams engaged in violent confrontations in the stands of the Maracanã Stadium, as was seen on television. The Brazilian police then used batons, especially against the Argentine fans. Pictures show fans lying on the ground with bloody wounds on their faces. The Argentina players initially tried to calm the situation, but later retreated to the dressing room. The game finally kicked off half an hour late.
“We saw them hitting people.”
“We went to the dressing room to calm down a little,” Messi said after the game. “We wanted to see how our families and the people close to us were doing. And then we came back.” Messi also said about the police: “We saw them hitting people. They were more focused on that than the game. We were there and couldn’t do much from below. A great disgrace could have happened.”
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Messi later wrote on Instagram: “This team continues to make history. Great victory in the Maracana, even if it will be marked by the renewed oppression of the Argentines in Brazil. This cannot be tolerated, this is madness and it has to stop now!” He also referred to the final of the Copa Libertadores between Fluminense and Boca Juniors, when there were also bad riots in Rio de Janeiro: “The same thing happened in the final of the Libertadores when people were pushed back with sticks.”
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A video with Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez in the spotlight shows how intense the situation in the stands was. Martinez jumped into the stands and tried to grab the police officers’ batons. The scene is being hotly debated on social media. The Argentine newspaper “Clarin” writes: “It was long minutes of absolute madness. The seats on both sides were torn from the stands and thrown around aimlessly, hitting anyone standing nearby.”
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Most recently, the two South American football nations Argentina and Brazil both failed in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. Last week, record world champions Brazil lost 1-2 away to the Colombian national team. Reigning world champion Argentina lost 2-0 at home to Uruguay. This was the first defeat for Messi’s team since the World Cup. Argentina now remains at the top of the table with 15 points, followed by Uruguay (13) and Colombia (12). Brazil is in sixth place with seven points. “This group keeps achieving historic things,” Messi said. “Maybe that wasn’t the most important thing today, but it was a nice win.”
