Correspondent in Mexico
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Football turned black after the first 17 minutes of the second part of the match of the mexican league disputed last weekend between the Queretaro, a club based in the city of the same name, one of the most peaceful in the country, and the Atlas. It was at that moment that the violence broke out and brutal fights began to take place in the stands of the stadium in The corrector between radical fans -the so-called bars- of the ‘white roosters (Querétaro) and the ‘zorros’, visiting fans. The referee was forced to stop the match without the security intervening in clashes that officially left 26 injured, three of them seriously, although some sources
They noted the death of several followers. A senseless pitched battle that exposed the security of the stadium, made up of civilians with no experience in a stadium that was the World Cup venue, and the organization of the leaders of the local team, a team that won the MX Super Cup five years ago and that in 2014 came to count in its ranks with Ronaldinho.
Outraged by the images, fifa called the incidents intolerable, while the Mexican Senate met urgently with the head of Liga MX, Mikel Arriolawhich subsequently agreed with One of Luisa, president of the Football Federation, harsh punishment measures for Querétaro. In addition to receiving a heavy fine, they will have to play their home games behind closed doors, while their leaders have been banned for a period of five years. One of the leaders consulted by ABC assures that the decrease in security in La Corregidora was due to the desire to reduce costs due to the crisis suffered by the club. The Mayor of Queretaro, Jose Luis Aguileraadded fuel to the fire by assuring that, weeks before the meeting, security guards had been arrested for failing to pass toxicological tests.
Resurgence of incidents
Violence has historically clouded Mexican soccer, although in the last two years it had decreased for various reasons. The reduction in capacity due to the pandemic and greater security in the stands managed to drastically reduce incidents in the stadiums, but what was experienced in Queretaro can bill the country that will organize, together with the United States and Canada, the World Cup 2026. Mauricio Kuri, the governor of the state of Querétaro, assured that only one of those arrested for the pitched battle in La Corregidora has a criminal record, for which he ruled out a possible link between the bars and organized crime. However, to try to eradicate violence in football, the authorities have chosen to prohibit the presence of visiting fans at matches.
The Mexican journalist Armando Melgarconnoisseur of the soccer backroom in this country, assures ABC that he does not remember such a brutal fight for so many minutes and that, in addition, he ended up moving off the field. There are many hypotheses about the possible fuse that ignited the pitched battle, although this expert points out that “it could be orchestrated and that it had nothing to do with football beyond the clothing of the shirts worn by the violent ones.”
One of the most established representatives of soccer players in Mexico, who prefers to remain anonymous, agrees with the journalists consulted by this newspaper in affirming that the non-disaffiliation –total exclusion– of Liga MX is a success of Querétaro and Atlas because that would have meant sending hundreds of workers from both clubs to unemployment.
The Mexican Police, which is still looking for more people involved, has so far arrested 14 people, who have been charged with the crimes of attempted murder, violence at sports events and advocacy of crime. Among the latest arrests, the case of a mother who handed over her son to the authorities for her participation in the battle between fans in La Corregidora has drawn attention. This ‘mother courage’ has demanded the clarification of the incidents and has asked the witnesses to go to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Meanwhile, gestures do not stop happening to keep the violence away from Mexican soccer. The Chivas from Guadalajarawhich shares a city with Atlas, has abolished the so-called ‘entertainment groups’ and has forced its components to wear a ‘colorless’ kit to promote a safer and more familiar atmosphere in its stadium.
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