This seems… irresponsible
Boca Juniors and River Plate fans could be sat together for the second leg of the Copa Libertadores final, which was rescheduled and relocated after fan violence rendered it impossible to stage the match in Buenos Aires.
The match was called off after River fans attacked the Boca Juniors bus, leaving the away side in no condition to play the match. With the G20 summit taking place in Buenos Aires, CONMEBOL had to relocate the match to Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabéu.
It will now take place on Friday December 9th, but ticketing arrangements mean there could be a large chunk of fans sitting in a ‘neutral section’.
Neutrality does not exist in the Superclásico. Away fans have been banned from attending fixtures between the two sides since 2014, so not to risk the safety of away fans in the fiercest derby in world football.
But at the Bernabéu, both sets of fans will not only be allowed to attend, but sit together.
The Spanish FA have been tasked with distributing tickets for the game, and will give just 5,000 tickets each to Boca and River to give to their fans.
20,000 tickets will go on general sale with priority to Argentine residents in Spain, while 6,000 seats will be reserved for corporate guests. The remaining 40,000 will be made available to the general public.
Allowing Spain-based Argentine fans to buy tickets in an unsegregated area could prove very irresponsible considering the reasoning behind the match’s cancellation in Argentina.
Boca Juniors have appealed CONMEBOL’s decision to stage the match in Madrid, claiming that they should be awarded an automatic victory after the attack on their bus. The club are prepared to take their case to CAS, the Court of Arbitration in Sport, if necessary.
So, the game may not even go ahead. If this saga has taught us anything, it is to expect the unexpected.
