Person Dies as Police Fire Tear Gas at Fans Trying to Push into Argentine Football Match in La Plata
- 2 years ago
At least one person was killed when police clashed with soccer fans trying to enter an Argentine league match on Thursday night, with the referee halting the match as clouds of tear gas filled the stadium.
According to authorities, fans of the local team, Gimnasia y Esgrima, struggled to enter the already packed stadium, with police using rubber bullets and tear gas to try to push back the crowd.
The incident came less than a week after the use of tear gas outside a soccer match in Indonesia triggered a crowd that left 131 dead.
Nine minutes into Thursday night's match between Gimnasia and Boca Juniors, referee Hernán Mastrangelo suspended the game.
The league said on Twitter that the game's referee reacted to the lack of security.
The players retreated to their locker rooms and many spectators flooded the field trying to escape the tear gas. The chaos continued outside the stadium as fans choked on police tear gas.
Parents were photographed carrying their children and putting sweaters over their mouths. Other children were separated from their parents during the Thursday night incident.
'Unfortunately there is a dead person. He died of a heart problem,' Sergio Berni, Minister of Security of the province, told the Todo Noticias radio station.
Berni did not elaborate on the circumstances in which that person died.
The horrific footage shows some fans climbing fences to escape the smoke and carrying their young children to protect them from being crushed.
Only Gimnasia fans were at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium in La Plata, as the province of Buenos Aires banned matches by fans of visiting teams in 2013 amid frequent outbreaks of violence.
The Argentine Football Association published a statement on Twitter condemning the incident in La Plata.
"The AFA strongly repudiates the events that occurred today in the vicinity of the Gimnasia stadium and expresses its commitment to continue working to eradicate this type of event that tarnishes the spirit of football."
A new date for the game to resume was not announced.
Some fans claimed there was an overselling of tickets amid excitement over the matchup between two teams fighting for the league title, saying people were probably angry when they couldn't get into the stadium.
In its security protocols, FIFA advises against the use of tear gas in or around stadiums to avoid risky situations such as in La Plata or in the Indonesian city of Malanga last Saturday, when many of the dead were crushed to death during the stampede . amateur
During the incident in Indonesia earlier this week, thousands of fans ran onto the pitch and police fired tear gas in response. During the crush, and with people trying to escape, fans were trampled, with 133 dead.
Many fans fell to the ground, losing consciousness. Some reports suggested that the tear gas meant fans could not breathe and were deprived of oxygen.
Outside the stadium, more riots broke out and tensions boiled over among fans. Cars were set on
According to authorities, fans of the local team, Gimnasia y Esgrima, struggled to enter the already packed stadium, with police using rubber bullets and tear gas to try to push back the crowd.
The incident came less than a week after the use of tear gas outside a soccer match in Indonesia triggered a crowd that left 131 dead.
Nine minutes into Thursday night's match between Gimnasia and Boca Juniors, referee Hernán Mastrangelo suspended the game.
The league said on Twitter that the game's referee reacted to the lack of security.
The players retreated to their locker rooms and many spectators flooded the field trying to escape the tear gas. The chaos continued outside the stadium as fans choked on police tear gas.
Parents were photographed carrying their children and putting sweaters over their mouths. Other children were separated from their parents during the Thursday night incident.
'Unfortunately there is a dead person. He died of a heart problem,' Sergio Berni, Minister of Security of the province, told the Todo Noticias radio station.
Berni did not elaborate on the circumstances in which that person died.
The horrific footage shows some fans climbing fences to escape the smoke and carrying their young children to protect them from being crushed.
Only Gimnasia fans were at the Juan Carmelo Zerillo stadium in La Plata, as the province of Buenos Aires banned matches by fans of visiting teams in 2013 amid frequent outbreaks of violence.
The Argentine Football Association published a statement on Twitter condemning the incident in La Plata.
"The AFA strongly repudiates the events that occurred today in the vicinity of the Gimnasia stadium and expresses its commitment to continue working to eradicate this type of event that tarnishes the spirit of football."
A new date for the game to resume was not announced.
Some fans claimed there was an overselling of tickets amid excitement over the matchup between two teams fighting for the league title, saying people were probably angry when they couldn't get into the stadium.
In its security protocols, FIFA advises against the use of tear gas in or around stadiums to avoid risky situations such as in La Plata or in the Indonesian city of Malanga last Saturday, when many of the dead were crushed to death during the stampede . amateur
During the incident in Indonesia earlier this week, thousands of fans ran onto the pitch and police fired tear gas in response. During the crush, and with people trying to escape, fans were trampled, with 133 dead.
Many fans fell to the ground, losing consciousness. Some reports suggested that the tear gas meant fans could not breathe and were deprived of oxygen.
Outside the stadium, more riots broke out and tensions boiled over among fans. Cars were set on