Credit: Twitter
A massive brawl erupted at Estadio Monumental in the 93rd minute after Colombian forward Miguel Borja converted a late penalty to put River Plate 1-0 up in the Superclasico against Boca Juniors. Six players were sent off in added time - three from each team as well as Boca coach Jorge Almiron after a late and ultimately decisive River Plate penalty. The brawl took place because Boca keeper Sergio Romero was offended by the allegedly provocative antics of the arch-rivals.
The 88000-strong crowd erupted after the goal and the River players rushed towards Borja to celebrate. However, the players celebrated aggressively after the goal and allegedly got in the faces of the Boca players. Goalkeeper Sergio Romero was livid as he took issue with the celebrations and he grabbed River Plate midfielder Agustin Palvecino after which his teammates joined the fight.
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"We leave with a very bitter and sad feeling," Romero said after the game, "Palavecino came to shout the goal in our faces. I reacted well, I went to grab him by the waist and tell him why I was doing that. My teammates thought I was going to fight and they all came." Meanwhile, Martin Demichelis rejected those words after the game and said that passion ‘takes over’ in a game and that in Argentina, people can’t stand losing.
River Plate captain Enzo Perez said afterward, "Terrible madness came out from all sides, and luckily we were able to keep three important points in a Superclasico. It is not good for the spectacle."
The officials tried to resolve the fight but the security staff had to intervene and separated the players. The Superclasico is a fierce rivalry between these two teams who initially hailed from the La Boca region in Buenos Aires which is a working-class dockland area. In 1925, River Plate shifted to Nunez, a more affluent area than La Boca and it continues to be very competitive and intense. In the Argentina Premier League points table, River Plate extend their lead at the top to nine points after the win meanwhile Boca Juniors are 13th in the standings.