Argentinian authorities are planning to investigate the circumstances surrounding the attendance at yesterday’s (Sunday’s) ‘Superclásico’ between River Plate and Boca Juniors, as fans returned to domestic football for the first time in 18 months.
Supporters were allowed back into stadia from Friday after a period of empty venues due to COVID-19, but the scenes at yesterday’s game at River’s El Monumental stadium left many to question whether the rules were obeyed.
Stadium capacity was supposed to be limited to 50%, while fans were only allowed to attend if they had received at least one dose of a vaccine. El Monumental has a current capacity of around 72,000 and Argentinian newspaper La Nacion reported the match attendance at 54,000 to 57,600.
Sports newspaper Ole estimated there were 52,000 to 53,000 fans, saying that was “a count clearly more” than half the 72,000 capacity. “After seeing the images on TV and according to eyewitnesses, questions are inevitable,” Ole wrote online.
A judicial official told the Reuters news agency an investigation would be launched. “People were detained for the sale of false tickets… and the Public Ministry of Buenos Aires city is going to investigate whether the capacity was exceeded,” a spokesperson for the office in charge of major events said.
River won the match 2-1 to stay top of the Primera División by one point.
Image: River Plate
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