The second leg of the Copa Libertadores Final between local rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate has been suspended after an attack on Boca’s team bus injured several of the team’s players.
Copa Libertadores final suspended after River Plate fans attack Boca Juniors team bus
Several Boca Juniors players were injured.
Photo by Demian Alday/Getty Images
CONMEBOL has announced that the match will now be played on Sunday.
Police attempted to escort the bus past a large group of River supporters on a busy street en route to River’s stadium, El Monumental, when the fans started throwing objects at the bus. The windows were broken and, in addition to injures suffered from shattered glass, players were exposed to tear gas and pepper spray after police attempted to disperse the crowd, reportedly making several Boca players sick.
The match was scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. ET, but was delayed several times. Bizarrely, CONMEBOL — the South American confederation that runs Copa Libertadores — declared Boca’s players fit to play.
The confederation’s doctors were unable to confirm said injuries because the players were transported to a hospital.
CONMEBOL set several new start times, pushing back the match multiple times, before declaring that it would go ahead at 5:30 p.m. ET. However, five minutes before that scheduled start, news came down that the match would not be played on Saturday. A new kickoff time of 3 p.m. ET on Sunday was set, but once again, the game was called off.
Officials from River, Boca and CONMEBOL are expected to meet this week to determine if the game will go forward, and where it will be played. Boca Juniors have formally requested for River Plate to be disqualified, while CONMEBOL says the match will be played on December 8 or 9.
The series is tied 2-2 after the first leg.
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