River Plate Riots: Reports Indicate One Fan Fatality And Violence Against Police After Relegation

Following their relegation from the Argentine Primera A, the first division of football in Argentina, fans of River Plate are rioting in the area of their stadium, the Monumental. According to reports, there has been violence and vandalism in and around the stadium, including reports of one fan fatality and attacks against police officers. Many of these reports have been corroborated on twitter by various fans and bloggers, including the fantastic Sebastian Garcia and Mundo Albiceleste, who have been on top of the story since the riots started with 30 seconds remaining in the match.

The police attempted to subdue the crowd inside the stadium with fire hoses, but their efforts did nothing to calm the crowd. In Argentina, to avoid incidents of this nature, away fans are supposed to be escorted out of the stadium and out of the area before the home supporters can leave to avoid clashes and to give home fans time to cool down in case of a contentious result. That procedure didn’t work today, as many River fans rushed out of the stadium early, ahead of the Belgrano fans. So far, no reports of serious violence between the sets of fans have been reported.