Savage violence rocks South American soccer: 185 injured and 120 arrested in a "hunt"

It was supposed to be a soccer match, but it turned into a snuff movie : the most violent fans of Independiente, one of the biggest clubs in Argentine soccer, beating, harassing, and humiliating fans of Universidad de Chile , demanding that they apologize . And it was all captured in viral videos, as befits the times.

Forgiveness for what? For throwing all kinds of objects from an upper tier at the Independiente fans below. So many and so forceful were the objects thrown—the Chileans broke down the door of a cleaning room and threw everything they found there—including pieces of the stadium's masonry, that the announcers broadcasting the Copa Sudamericana round of 16 match became increasingly speechless, unable to say anything. The official broadcast of the South American Confederation (CONMEBOL) covered up the incidents as the match went on and on. Until Uruguayan referee Gustavo Tejera sent everyone to the locker room two minutes into the second half.

The stadium was a coven of events. Many Independiente fans, attacked from the start of the match by Universidad de Chile fans, had jumped onto the field to avoid the hail of projectiles. Meanwhile, members of Independiente's hooligans climbed onto the stadium's second tier to " hunt" Chilean fans . The snuff-movie scenes weren't the worst, however: cornered, a Chilean fan decided to jump from the stands. Gonzalo Alfaro, his real name, was admitted to a Buenos Aires hospital on Thursday in very serious condition after falling from a great height. The 33-year-old Chilean underwent emergency surgery and is intubated in the operating room, according to doctors, in " life-threatening " condition. When he finished falling, other Independiente fans continued hitting and kicking him, defenseless on the ground.

The "Clarín" report is chilling: "As the last Chilean supporters were leaving, a group of Independiente fans burst in unexpectedly , hooded and armed with sticks. What followed was a manhunt : the few remaining U fans were brutally beaten, stripped naked and humiliated. The images were shocking: bloodied men, unconscious on the stands, ambulances rushing in and out. Outside, on the Pueyrredón Bridge, there were more runs and clashes with the police, who finally arrested about a hundred U fans as they tried to return to the City of Buenos Aires. Inside the stadium, the confusion was total. Some players ran to the stands to rescue relatives. Julio Vaccari , coach of the Argentine team, also approached the side gorges, where women and children were taking refuge. Fear reigned: the detonations came from the street and the playing field was transformed in an improvised shelter for dozens of fans."

The latest figures speak of 185 injured and 125 arrested . It all happened in Argentina , one of the three countries that will host matches of the 2030 World Cup . A huge problem for CONMEBOL, presided over by Paraguayan Alejandro Domínguez , although violence in football is a decades-old disease. Argentina has yet to organize the return of visiting fans to football stadiums, banned since 2013, the strange solution found to avoid the chaos that occurs every weekend. Claudio Tapia , president of the Argentine Football Association (AFA), announced weeks ago the return of visiting fans to stadiums, but the clubs refused: their infrastructure is not prepared to receive fans from other clubs, who cannot simply mix with the locals.

But just as Argentina has a serious problem, the same can be said of Chile, whose most violent fans grew up admiring the barbarity of the Argentinians and have now become their best students. And not just in soccer: this year marked the 25th anniversary of the Davis Cup tie in which Argentina visited Chile and walked out of the stadium after chairs were thrown at the players.