On Tuesday, Interior Minister Luis Alberto Heber expressed his concern and communicated with the presidents of Nacional, José Fuentes, and his partner from Peñarol, Ignacio Ruglio, to try to calm the waters and seek a climate of peace to be able to dispute the two football classics that are scheduled to play this summer and are part of the preseason for both teams.
The first is scheduled for Saturday January 22 at the Centenario Stadium and the second for Wednesday 26 at the Maldonado Campus.
However, the fans of Nacional and Peñarol will meet the day before, on Friday, January 21, when both teams meet for the last date of the first round of the Uruguayan Basketball League.
On Tuesday night, the Peñarol fans, on the occasion of the match against Trouville played at the Peñarol Palace, claimed and celebrated with songs the death of Nacional Washington fan Omar Simón who was shot on the white road on January 5 and that he lost his life on Monday the 10th.
That determined that this Wednesday, in the afternoon, the authorities of the Uruguayan Basketball Federation meet (FUBB) to analyze the situation.
As he told Referee one of the neutrals who participated in the meeting, “For now the classic is set under the same conditions that were established: Friday, January 21 at the Antel Arena and with the public “.
The capacity in basketball sports venues is reduced to 80% due to the coronavirus pandemic.
However, Nacional made through a call its restlessness to play on that stage.
“We did not have any formal proposal, but before the facts of public knowledge, leaders of Nacional asked us about the possibility of changing the setting and not playing it at the Antel Arena. They even asked about the chance to play in Unión Atlética where they are local, but the The Ministry of the Interior was clear and said that a classic in the middle of a neighborhood and on that field you cannot play. That is why the FUBB raised the hypothesis of taking it inside, as was done in the 2021 League classic, something that remained to be analyzed, “said the source consulted.
The first classic after the return of Peñarol to the main category of Uruguayan basketball was played at the 10 de Julio stadium in Florida and was won by Nacional 85-67.
On that occasion, the FUBB authorities observed the clubs because the number of people authorized to enter was vastly exceeded since the sports venues were not yet open to the public.
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