Image of people fighting at the seating area of the Corregidora stadium, which left about 26 injured after fans stormed the pitch during match between Mexican Liga MX sides Queretaro and Atlas, in Queretaro, Mexico.
Sports

Mexican Football League Suspends Queretaro Matches After Stadium Fight

0 541

Mexico’s football league, Liga MX, said it would suspend upcoming matches at Queretaro’s Corregidora stadium where violent clashes left about 26 people injured, and restrict visiting fans from attending away games.

The brutal attacks among spectators during the Queretaro-Atlas match on Saturday sent 26 people, mostly men, to hospital with three people in critical condition.

Liga MX also said it would pursue sanctions, without detailing who might be held responsible or what the sanctions might include.

Image of people fighting on the pitch of the Corregidora stadium, which left about 26 injured after fans stormed the ground during match between Mexican Liga MX sides Queretaro and Atlas, in Queretaro, Mexico.

“We have an immediate challenge to generate a clear and understandable response and effective punishment,” said Mikel Arriola, president of Mexico’s Liga MX league.

“We are not going to have any soccer activity here until the case is resolved,” he added, referring to Queretaro’s Corregidora stadium.

Arriola said owners in the league would meet on Tuesday to discuss further disciplinary measures, including for rowdy fan groups known locally as “barras,” while government officials pursue investigations.

Football players and people walk on the field at the Corregidora stadium after clashes leave least 26 people injured in a brawl when fans stormed the field during a match between Queretaro and Atlas, in Queretaro, Mexico.

Liga MX suspended Saturday’s match after 62 minutes with visitors Atlas leading 1-0, as spectators stormed the pitch. Images showed people being brutally beaten, kicked and dragged in seating areas and hallways of the stadium.

Speaking outside a Queretaro hospital on Saturday night, game attendee Hector Ramirez said some attackers wielded belts and knives.

“They hit me with a chair, and I have the bump right here,” he said, pointing to his head. “Where do you get a chair in a stadium?”

The governor of Queretaro state, Mauricio Kuri, said some probes had been opened for attempted murder.

“Even though there are no deaths, we can’t say this isn’t a tragedy,” Kuri said.

Neither government nor league officials addressed what might have triggered the clashes, which were condemned by both the Queretaro and Atlas teams.

Officials said people who appeared in photos lying on the ground, some covered in blood, were alive and being treated in hospital. Kuri said in a video on Twitter that some social media and news reports about victims who died from beatings at the stadium were false, adding that he had “no reason to lie or hide anything.”

One man identified in a photo, in his 20s, was being treated for head trauma and light hemorrhaging, said Queretaro Health Minister Maria Perez.

The regional governing Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF), which includes Mexico’s Liga MX, has urged “strong” sanctions, while world governing body FIFA called on government authorities to deliver justice for victims.

“The violence at the La Corregidora stadium was unacceptable and intolerable,” FIFA said in a statement.

Mexico will host FIFA’s World Cup in 2026 along with the United States and Canada, marking its third time hosting the sport’s biggest event.

Chidi Nwoke/Reuters/FIFA.

Chidi Nwoke 2843 posts 0 comments
You might also like More from author
Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.