Colombian stabbed to death in football fan fight

BOGOTA: A young Colombian man was stabbed to death in a fight between fans of rival football teams, police said on Tuesday.

Another death is being probed to determine if it stems from football violence, the police added.

The mayor of Bogota warned of declaring the city’s El Campin stadium off limits to teams whose fans have been involved in fights.

In the latest incident, Carlos Medellin, 20, was killed on Monday night outside a bus station in downtown Bogota.

Medellin, a fan of Atletico Nacional, was stabbed in the chest by supporters of a team called Millonarios. Five people were arrested.

The two teams were to have played on Tuesday night in El Campin stadium in the latest chapter of a classic Colombian rivalry. But the mayor suspended the match because of Medellin’s death.

“This is not a day for celebrating, it is a day for mourning,” said Guillermo Alfonso Jaramillo, a town hall official.

On Friday, a man aged 66 died of a stab wound when he intervened to defend his son in a fight between football fans.

In yet another case, police said they are investigating whether the death of a youth on Monday night in another part of town stemmed from a fight between fans of Millonarios and Atletico Nacional.

Bogota mayor Gustavo Petro raised the possibility of restricting use of El Campin stadium as a way to punish and deter violent fans.

“If there is no peace in our neighbourhoods because of football, there can be no football in the stadium,” Petro wrote on Twitter.

He convened a meeting of leaders of football fan clubs.

Police chief Rodolfo Palomino suggested barring fans from visiting teams from wearing shirts with their team colours. He said this would be a protective measure. — AFP