The Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors, originally planned for Saturday, was "postponed for a second time following Saturday's crowd trouble," according to ESPN.com. River's second leg showdown at home against Boca "was rearranged for Sunday" but CONMEBOL President Alejandro Domínguez said, "We need to allow both clubs to recover so, with this in mind, we will be postponing the match. It's a disgrace we are talking about this because of a few hooligans. This is not football -- it's not what we want. ... Today, we find ourselves with a playing field which is not level. One team was attacked and we need to think of a fair final." No date has yet been specified "for the crucial second leg to be played." A meeting will take place on Tuesday to determine the date of the final. River fans attacked the Boca team bus on Saturday, "injuring players as they travelled to the stadium" in Buenos Aires. Police used tear gas and pepper spray to "control the violence" and Boca captain Pablo Pérez and midfielder Gonzalo Lamardo were taken to nearby hospitals after suffering injuries. CONMEBOL rescheduled the game for Sunday at 5pm local time but ahead of the match, Boca's "request for a postponement was granted" (ESPN.com, 11/25).
'CAN'T PLAY THIS WAY': In London, Peter Wilson reported TV footage showed River supporters "hurling objects at the bus as it made its way to the stadium." According to reports in Argentina, Boca players "suffered cuts from the glass from broken windows and were also taken ill" due to the effects of tear gas. Boca exec Juan Carlos Crespi said, "They were throwing pepper gas, stones, everything." Boca Secretary General Christian Gribaudo said, "The players are all hurt, you can’t play this way." Carlos Tevez, the former ManU and West Ham forward who currently plays for Boca, said that he was "unhappy that no River players went to check on their opponents after the bus attack" (LONDON TIMES, 11/25). The BBC reported footage "apparently from inside the Boca dressing room showed the players groggy" and disoriented. Boca President Daniel Angelici said, "This should shame us as a society and I find it very sad that we have to reschedule such an important match. It's not easy to take this decision when there are 60,000 people in the stadium and the television rights have been sold to a ton of countries. But the most important thing is to look after the physical and psychological condition of the team" (BBC, 11/25).
FIFA UNDER FIRE: NEWS.com.au reported FIFA was "slammed for trying to force" Boca to play (NEWS.com.au, 11/25). In Madrid, Italo Morales reported a total of 56 people were arrested, including 16 for "attacking police officers" (AS, 11/24).
