On Thursday May 14, the talk of the town in Buenos Aires was that evening’s fútbol match between crosstown rivals Boca Juniors and River Plate. Any game between these two teams is an automatic superclásico, and in this case a spot in the international Copa Libertador quarterfinals was at stake. Tickets sold for OSU v. Michigan prices—up to 600USD.
Walking down the street that evening, we heard sirens and saw a string of motorcycle police approach–a crime wave? High speed chase? No, it was the River Plate team bus and their police escort headed to Boca’s stadium, La Bombonera (“chocolate box”). Cars honked and passersby yelled, and not just because the bus snarled traffic; Boca supporters hate the Plate and the feeling is mutual.
We joined the other porteños in watching the game on TV. The city came to a standstill. The first half ended in a scoreless tie, but the crowd provided its own entertainment with signal flares, drones, and banners. The stadium rocked.
As the teams gathered to enter the field for the second half, the River Plate players ran out of their tunnel shouting and clutching their eyes. Someone had sprayed pepper gas into the tunnel.
In real time no one knew what had happened. Players, coaches, police officers, and league administrators wandered around the field for over an hour until the league finally called the game.
Newspapers and TV remain fixated on the incident. Some of the players suffered visible burns. Boca received a stiff penalty—a forfeit of the match and a four-game suspension from international play.
But for Argentinians the “supershameful” incident sparked a ongoing national discussion about violence and soccer—amplified because a player died as a result of injuries incurred during another match a few days earlier.