Tweet
By Jairo Anchique, AP
A stadium brawl at a soccer rivalry game left at least 78 people wounded in the Colombian city of Cali late Saturday, 18 of them with stab wounds, emergency officials said.
Clashes broke out among America de Cali's Red Baron fan club in the 82nd minute of the match with Deportivo de Cali and spread on the field and around the Pascal Guerrero stadium.
Eighteen people were stabbed during the melee, said Manuel Infante, sposkesman for Cali's Emergency Prevention Committee. They were treated at the stadium and taken to a local hospital. Another 69 suffreed bruises and other minor injuries.
Tensions flared over referee Wilman Roldan's decision tnot to call a penalty kick against Cali. America protested the not call, players traded blows on the field and America coach Diego Edison Umamna got into the fray, elbowing his Cali counterpart Daniel Carreno
Cali Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina called Umana "directly responsible" for the violence and said the stadium's stands would bye closed temporariily.
Umana had harsh words for the refereeing later in comments published on the website of El Tiempo newspaper, but said there was "no excuse" for his behavior.
Fans of the two Cali squads have had frequent clasthes in the past, though less serious. "This cannot happen again, vouled Juan Carlos Abaddia, governor of Del Valle department.
The chaos led Roldan to whistle an early end to the match, which Deportivo won 1-0 on a goal from defender Freddy Hurtado.
A stadium brawl at a soccer rivalry game left at least 78 people wounded in the Colombian city of Cali late Saturday, 18 of them with stab wounds, emergency officials said.
Clashes broke out among America de Cali's Red Baron fan club in the 82nd minute of the match with Deportivo de Cali and spread on the field and around the Pascal Guerrero stadium.
Eighteen people were stabbed during the melee, said Manuel Infante, sposkesman for Cali's Emergency Prevention Committee. They were treated at the stadium and taken to a local hospital. Another 69 suffreed bruises and other minor injuries.
Tensions flared over referee Wilman Roldan's decision tnot to call a penalty kick against Cali. America protested the not call, players traded blows on the field and America coach Diego Edison Umamna got into the fray, elbowing his Cali counterpart Daniel Carreno
Cali Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina called Umana "directly responsible" for the violence and said the stadium's stands would bye closed temporariily.
Umana had harsh words for the refereeing later in comments published on the website of El Tiempo newspaper, but said there was "no excuse" for his behavior.
Fans of the two Cali squads have had frequent clasthes in the past, though less serious. "This cannot happen again, vouled Juan Carlos Abaddia, governor of Del Valle department.
The chaos led Roldan to whistle an early end to the match, which Deportivo won 1-0 on a goal from defender Freddy Hurtado.