BOCA FAIL TO BLOCK RIVER FOR CUP FINAL

BOCA JUNIORS will take on River Plate in the Copa Libertadores final tonight after a late bid to have the game postponed was rejected.

The game will take pace at the Bernabeu in Madrid after the original game was called off when River fans attacked the Boca team bus.

Boca want River Plate disqualified from the competition and asked for the match to be put back while the Court of Arbitration for Sport considered its decision.

But that was rejected and now the game will kick off as scheduled at 7.45pm.

CONMEBOL, South American football’s governing body, had earlier twice rejected Boca’s call for River Plate to be disqualified from the tournament, following the attack on Boca’s bus outside El Monumental that led to the postponement of the original clash last month.

The CAS will now consider the dis disqualification issue a at a later date.

Whoever comes out on top at the Bernabeu, Boca b boss Guillermo Ba Barros Schelotto (above) sees no winners. He said: “We would have liked to play it in Argentina. I understand the situation that led us to play it in Madrid, it is unfortunate that this happens.

“We always repeat the same mistakes and the only thing we do is damage Argentine and South American soccer. Instead of talking about the fact that the two best teams in the Libertadores are Argentines, we are talking about violence. We lost again.”

The first leg ended in a 2-2 draw at Boca’s La Bombonera home, and Schelotto is determined to bring home the trophy for the club’s fans.

He said: “They’re unique, they’re incredible, they have filled us with affection for this game. They filled La Bombonera, they had excellent behaviour, they refilled it before the final that was to be played at El Monumental, and now they also gave us a big farewell.”

River had initially said they would not play the match in Madrid, but they arrived in the Spanish capital on Thursday.