A “shameful” attack on the Boca Juniors team bus by River Plate supporters has led to the postponement of the final of the Copa Libertadores second leg.
Boca players suffered cuts from the glass from broken windows and were also affected by the tear gas used by police to disperse the crowds.
A number of players, including Boca’s former Manchester City, Manchester United and Juventus striker Carlos Tevez, reportedly suffered from dizziness and vomiting and were being treated by club doctors.
Footage apparently from inside the Boca dressing room showed the players groggy and disorientated.
Reports said Boca’s Pablo Perez and Gonzalo Lamardo had been taken by ambulance to hospital, the former with slivers of broken glass in his eyes and the latter a cut on his head.
“Pablo has just returned from hospital and has a bandage on his eye,” Tevez told reporters before the postponement was confirmed.
“Other team-mates have cuts. We’ve only just been able to breathe well because we were affected by the gas. We can’t play like this,” he added.
“In these conditions the game was distorted. One team couldn’t play and the other doesn’t want to play against a rival that isn’t in the right conditions,” explained Alejandro Dominguez, the head of South American football’s governing body, Conmebol.
“This should shame us as a society and I find it very sad that we have to reschedule such an important match,” said Boca president Daniel Angelici.
“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.”
