The game between Brazil and Argentina is once again giving a lot to talk about for the wrong reasons. Before their World Cup Qualifier even started, a riot broke out in the stands.
Argentine fans were apparently fighting with Brazilian supporters in the stands and the Brazilian police started to hit La Albiceleste fans with batons. The Argentine team immediately went to intervene, but the chaos wouldn’t stop.
An angry Lionel Messi was seen protesting for the treatment the away fans were getting at the Maracana stadium. As the problems went on, Messi led his team back to the tunnel, telling the referee they wouldn’t start the match.
The Argentine national team waited for the situation to calm down. The Brazilian squad stayed on the field, waiting for any further information by the authorities. Needless to say, this shameful situation has overshadowed what should have been an interesting sporting derby on the field.
With things looking better in the stands, Messi and company returned to the field to play the game. But of course, the game was marred by the brutal scenes on the stands.
Another chaotic derby
While this is without any doubt the most shameful situation in a long time, it’s not the first time a Brazil-Argentina game is surrounded by a mess. In fact, La Albiceleste’s last trip to Brazilian soil in 2021 was called off in the first half.
Only five minutes into the game, health authorities stormed into the field claiming that four Argentine players broke the Covid-19 protocol by entering the country. La Albiceleste went back to the locker room, and the match never resumed.
A must-win game for both
Though it’s hard to focus on the game or the tournament when so many horrible things took place in the same venue, the game started anyway so now we may finally move on to the implications of this game.
While the atmosphere is extremely heated, both sides already saw this match as a must-win before the violent episode. Brazil come from a shocking loss to Colombia, whereas Argentina were upset by Uruguay.
Fernando Diniz’s men have failed to pick up a win in their last three games, a negative streak that sees them fifth in the standings. Lionel Scaloni’s side, on the other hand, arrived on Matchday 6 atop the table with 12 points.
While Brazil need to win this match to end a string of bad results, Argentina would use the three points to continue as leaders and keep Uruguay at bay. But of course, now both teams want to beat their opponent even more after what happened before the kick-off.
