River Plate say ‘no’ to Copa tie at Bernabeu
River Plate are refusing to play the postponed second leg of their Copa Libertadores final against Boca Juniors at Real Madrid’s Bernabeu Stadium.
The original match was called off last Saturday after River fans attacked the Boca bus on its way to El Monumental, leaving several players requiring medical treatment.
After the game was again postponed the following day, the South American confederation CONMEBOL subsequently announced the match was being moved across the Atlantic to Spain on December 9.
But River insisted the security failures were not their responsibility and that CONMEBOL’s decision unfairly penalises the 66,000 people who had tickets for the match.
A statement on cariverplate.com.ar said: “From the presentation made yesterday, River Plate confirms its refusal to change venue.
“The club understands that the decision distorts the competition, harms those who acquired their ticket and affects the equality of conditions. The following are the reasons for which River Plate supports the aforementioned position.
“The responsibility for the failure of the security operation on Saturday, which occurred outside the perimeter ring prepared for the event, was openly assumed by the highest authorities of the state.
“The events that River Plate regrets – and for which they sympathised in a timely manner – are in no way the responsibility of the club.
“More than 66,000 people attending the stadium waited patiently for about eight hours on Saturday and returned to the stadium for the second time on Sunday. Those same spectators are now denied – unjustifiably – the possibility of witnessing the spectacle.
“It is incomprehensible that the most important classic of Argentinian football cannot develop normally in the same country that in the same days runs a G20 summit. Argentinian football as a whole and the Argentine Football Association cannot and should not allow a handful of violent ones to impede the development of the Superclasico in our country.”