Things escalated quite quickly in Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil and a clash among the fans could be witnessed by all. When the police could not handle the situation calmly, they started beating people. Argentina’s Caption Lionel Messing said that it “could have been a tragedy” as the fight among the fans was taking a bigger shape with the police started beating everyone.
The incident took place at the Maracana Stadium where Messi and other players’ families were there. Before hitting the dressing room, the football players of both teams tried to stop the chaos and calm everyone down. Messi said, “It was bad because we saw how they were beating people.”
He further continued, “The police, as happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with night sticks. We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy. 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.”
The trouble between the fans began when the players were standing at the stadium in Rio de Janeiro during the national anthems. When police were prompted to charge at Argentinian supporters using the batons;’ things went wild. The supporters ripped out seats and threw them at the police who were attacking. Many fans jump to the field to escape this disaster.
The football players of Argentina including Captain Messi did not just stand there but also went to the crowd and tried to calm them down while asking police not to beat them up. Argentina’s goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez even tried to grab the baton from a police officer’s hand. The police made sure to keep Argentinian fans in separate sections and the qualifier match started with 30 minutes delay.
Not just Messi but Brazil captain Marquinhos also joined Argentina players to stand with them and calm the situation. He added, We were worried about the families, women, and children that we were seeing in panic up there in the stands. Down on the pitch, it was hard for us to understand what was going on, it was a very scary situation.”
After all this chaos, World champions Argentina ensured the winner’s place with 1-0. Thanks to the amazing goal by former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi. When it comes to the World Cup, the five-time winners now have lost three successive qualifiers to sit sixth in the South American qualifying table. As a result, Brazil is now eight points behind Argentina. Quite evidently, Argentina ensures its place at the 2026 finals.
Such chaos, violence, and blood are a rare sight when everyone shares a passion for football. However, the qualifier match in Rio De Janeiro depicts a different picture. So, the biggest question is; “There is the sportsmanship and love for football that was shared by all?” Hopefully, it will be there at the time of World Cup.
