Police fired rubber bullets and tear gas outside the Carmelo
Zerillo stadium in La Plata, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of
Argentina’s capital as they attempted to stop fans from pushing into the
already crowded venue.
The unrest continued inside, where shocked spectators were
seen squeezing through fencing to escape the violence and get onto the field.
“I can confirm that there is one person dead. This person
died of cardiac arrest,” said Sergio Berni, security minister of Buenos Aires
province, where the Argentina league first division match took place.
The game was suspended after nine minutes until further
notice “due to lack of (security) guarantees,” referee Hernan Mastrangelo said,
minutes after the players and technical staff left the pitch for the dressing
rooms.
“It affected all of us on the field,” he added. “The air
became unbreathable. The situation got out of control and there were no
security guarantees.”
Authorities at San Martin hospital in La Plata confirmed the
death of a 57-year-old man due to cardiac arrest as he was being transferred
from the stadium to the hospital.
Several fans, including children being led or carried by
adults, rushed to get out of the stands and onto the pitch, where people were
seen sitting or lying down apparently recovering from tear gas exposure.
The match came at a critical point in the Argentine
top-flight league, with four rounds to go and Gimnasia playing its last chance
to secure the title at home, while Boca was looking for a win to return to the
premier division.
“What was going to be a party ends in this. It hurts us all
what happened, it is tremendous and we regret it,” Boca Juniors manager Hugo
Ibarra told reporters.
The deadly violence came five days after a stampede in
Indonesia prompted by police firing tear gas inside a packed stadium left at
least 131 people dead, including 32 children.
AFP