Fan violence during a Saturday football game in central Mexico left at least 26 people hurt, three of them critically.
Queretaro’s home Liga MX match against Guadalajara’s Atlas was halted in the 62nd minute due to crowd trouble. When fans, including women and children, started to panic, security personnel opened the field gates.
Mexico Soccer Riot Latest Fallout After Violence Between Queretaro
At least some of the Atlas and Queretaro players immediately retreated to the changing rooms. The rest of Queretaro’s roster, including goalkeeper Washington Aguerre of Uruguay, stayed close to the bench in an effort to quiet the crowd.
Some of the confrontations, after a few minutes, spilled out onto the field. It appeared that some of the crowd had chairs and metal bars at the ready. It appeared that one spectator was about to cut the nets of one of the goals using a knife. Meanwhile, others tore apart a team bench and fought in the locker room.
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Football’s governing body issued a statement saying, “Fifa joins the Mexican Football Association and Concacaf in condemning this inhumane event and encouraging the local authorities to bring fast justice to those involved.” Everyone who has been affected by it is in our prayers.
In a Tweet, Liga MX Also Spoke Out Against the Violence.
Mikel Arriola, president of the league, promised that those responsible for the stadium’s lack of security will be held accountable. He also said that the weekend’s schedule for the rest of the league was cancelled.
Mexico’s media reported an unconfirmed death toll of up to 17, but authorities were unable to confirm any of the deaths. Although 26 individuals were sent to the hospital, governor of Queretaro Mauricio Kuri indicated that death toll reports were false.
Four of the injured were reported to have minor wounds by Kuri, while eight were listed as stable, and three were listed as serious. They might have been the men who were kicked and punched until they were unconscious and then filmed and shared online.
That they were harmed so brutally in a place meant for families to have fun is a disgrace to the sport of soccer and a black eye for its promoters. Kuri blasted the rioters, calling their actions “completely reprehensible,” and added that officials were considering filing attempted murder charges against some of the participants.
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Last Words
Officials from the state claimed that there were some police present at the stadium, but that private security guards were the majority of those working there. From the looks of the video, the majority of the security team consisted of female police who made no headway in their attempts to stop the brawling.
Guadalupe Murguia, the interior secretary of Queretaro state, said, “If the [team] does not have enough police or they lack training, we will try to hold them responsible.”
