Peruvian football club fans beat up players after defeat to Argentines
Football fans in Peru were so sore over their club Alianza Lima’s 4-0 loss to Argentina’s Huracan that they went on the rampage against their own team.
The attack took place on Thursday (Feb 5), wounding two top players and prompting rumours they might quit.
Supporters broke into the club’s Alejandro Villanueva stadium in the Peruvian capital carrying sticks, witnesses said on local broadcaster RPP.
Newspaper El Comercio reported that about 60 fans burst into the locker room ahead of a scheduled practice, beating several players and pointing a gun at two of them.
The mob left graffiti on the stadium exterior - urging Uruguayan coach Guillermo Sanguinetti to leave the team.
Two of the club’s best players, forward Christian Cueva and midfielder Victor Cedron, were wounded in the attack, family members and friends told local media.
“Victor has wounds on his face and his leg,” family friend Carlos Quiroz said on RPP.
Local sports daily El Bocon's website featured pictures of Cedron with a black eye. It reported that Cueva and Cedron are considering leaving the club because of the attack.
Besides requesting for extra police protection for players and trainers, Alianza Lima said fans threatened stadium security guards and entered the stadium “violently and by surprise.”
The 0-4 loss at home to Huracan on Tuesday (Feb 3) was for South America’s Libertadores Cup, a tournament often blighted by violence and misconduct.
The game was played in an empty stadium in Peru because of a FIFA sanction against Alianza Lima - after fireworks from the stands landed on the pitch in Alianza Lima's during a Copa Sudamericana games in September 2014.
Photo: AFP
Alianza Lima are to play three international games behind closed doors, which means that they still need to play two matches at home without support.
Cueva punched a fan who had harassed him after Tuesday's Huracan defeat. He later apologised.
Alianza Lima will face Huracan again next week in Argentina.
The club, one of Peru’s most popular, would have to score at least five goals in order to stay in the competition.
Sources: Reuters, Twitter
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