Lionel Messi, captain of Argentina, accused the Brazilian police of brutality after the kickoff of the match between his team and Brazil in the World Cup qualifiers was delayed by half an hour due to clashes between the police and visiting fans at the Maracanã Stadium on Tuesday. Brazilian and Argentine fans clashed behind one of the goals during the playing of the national anthems, prompting police to attack the visiting fans with batons. Some Argentine fans responded by tearing up and throwing seats at security personnel, while other fans panicked and rushed onto the field to escape the chaos.
In a video, an Argentine fan is seen lying on the field with a bloodied face before being carried away on a stretcher. The Argentine team, led by Messi, went to the stands to try to calm the situation before leaving the field and returning to the locker room. Messi stated in a televised interview on the field, "It was bad because we saw how they were beating people, as happened in the Copa Libertadores final. The police were hitting people again with batons. Some players brought their families to the stadium to watch the match. We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, and it could have ended in a tragedy. You think about the families and the people in the stadium who don’t know what’s happening, and we were more concerned about that than playing the match, which at that moment was secondary."
For his part, Marquinhos, captain of Brazil, who was seen speaking with Messi and some Argentine players during their attempts to defuse the situation, expressed his discontent with these events. Marquinhos told reporters, "We were very concerned about the families, the women, and the children we saw terrified in the stands." He added, "Inside the stadium, it was hard for us to understand what was happening. It was a very scary situation."
Violent clashes broke out between fans of Argentine Boca Juniors and Brazilian Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro before the Copa Libertadores final between the two clubs this month. On Tuesday, the Argentine players eventually returned to the field and the match kicked off following the long delay. Argentina won 1-0 with a header from defender Nicolás Otamendi in the 63rd minute, celebrating the victory over their eternal rival in front of its own fans in the same stadium where previous problems occurred. This was Brazil's third consecutive defeat, and they finished the match with ten players after Joelinton was sent off near the end.
