Punches and tear gas: Boca Juniors players clash with police about Libertadores loss to Atletico Mineiro
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Updated 21/07/2021 at 09:04 GMT
The scenes at the final whistle were distasteful to say the least after the Argentine giants were knocked out of the competition. Former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo was one of the players involved as the Boca team felt that they were denied a clear goal by VAR during their loss on penalties against Atletico Mineiro.
Uruguayan referee Esteban Ostojich checks the VAR during the Copa Libertadores round of 16 second leg football match between Brazil's Atletico Mineiro and Argentina's Boca Juniors at the Minerao Stadium in Belo Horizonte, Brazil on July 20, 2021.
Image credit: Getty Images
Boca Juniors players, including former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo, clashed with police after their penalty shoot-out defeat to Atletico Mineiro in the Copa Libertadores on Tuesday.
The Argentine giants felt they were denied a goal by VAR and after the game went to penalties they were knocked out by Atletico.
After the final whistle the players tried to storm the room of the match officials, throwing objects including a fire extinguisher to try and break it down.
They then clashed with police and tried to get into the Atletico dressing room, with the police using tear gas in an attempt to break things up.
It was the Brazilians' team president Sergio Coelho who stood at the door trying to stop the Boca players getting into the dressing room.
In a statement, Atletico and Coelho said that they would file a damages report to the police but not for any of the players or management staff to be arrested.
Boca legend Juan Roman Riquelme, the club’s vice-president said "When they were in the locker room, you see a person in a suit who pushed the boys and insults them ... The policemen threw gases in the players' faces.
"They gas, what do you do? Do you defend yourself or do you let them hit you? You see the president throwing bottles, the police ... They don't say anything to them. That's the truth."
Boca midfielder Diego Gonzalez did not hold back in his assessment of the referee’s performances over the two legs after his team were denied a goal in the first game as well.
"Without a doubt, everyone can see that,” he said when asked about whether the officials played a role in his side’s elimination.
"We scored a good goal, and the fact is that we deserved to win the first game as well. This hurts, we feel bad. CONMEBOL [the South American Football Confederation] need to look at the refereeing."
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