Fight between fans delays start of Brazil x Argentina at Maracanã – 11/21/2023 – Sport

A fight involving fans, police and security agents delayed the start of the duel between Brazil and Argentina on Tuesday night (21), at Maracanã, in the World Cup qualifiers, by around half an hour.

The fight took place in the seats behind one of the stadium’s goals, where the Argentine fans were concentrated.

Pieces of chairs were thrown towards Brazilians and also Argentines. Afterwards, security agents and military police attacked the Argentines, who advanced towards spaces previously occupied by Brazilians.

The confusion delayed the start of the game, scheduled to start at 9:30 pm. The ball only rolled at 9:58 pm, when the environment managed to be controlled by the security forces.

As soon as the fight began, the Argentine players, led by Messi, tried to intervene to end the conflict, but, given the insecurity of the situation, they decided to leave the pitch.

Around 20 minutes later, the referee decided, in agreement with representatives of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation) and the AFA (Argentine Football Association), that the match would start as soon as the atmosphere was calm.

The Argentines returned to the field at 9:53 pm to intense booing from the home fans. Messi, who had previously received applause from some Brazilians, became the target of insults from a large part of the stands.

Shortly after the Maracanã gates opened, at 6:30 pm, Argentine fans had already made their way to the seats behind one of the goals. As usual, visitors attracted attention due to their excitement.

At 7:42 pm, jumping up and down, they started a chant that was soon drowned out by boos from the Brazilians. This would repeat throughout the night.

Just before 8:30 pm, the Maracanã sound system played the song “Muchachos”, which highlighted the Argentines’ third world championship in 2022. The reaction from the stands was delirious among the visitors, with more boos – and this time louder – among Brazilians.