Argentina captain Lionel Messi accused Brazilian police of cruelty on Tuesday, after the start of Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil was delayed by half an hour due to conflicts between police and visiting fans at Maracana Stadium.
During the national anthems, Brazilian and Argentine fans began fighting behind one of the goals, causing police to charge at the travelling contingent with night sticks drawn.
As other supporters panicked and ran onto the pitch to escape the conflict, some Argentina fans ripped up and threw seats at the officers.
One Argentina fan was carried from the stadium on a stretcher with a bloodied face on the pitch.
Argentina’s team, led by Messi, went to the terraces to try to calm the situation before leaving the field and going to the locker room.
“It was terrible because we saw them hitting people… “The police were repressing the people with night sticks, as they had done in the Libertadores final, and there were players who had families over there,” Messi stated in a pitchside television interview.
“We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm things down; otherwise, it could have ended tragically.”
“You think about the families, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on, and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance.”
