Football
The match between Brazil and Argentina turned into hell. Bloodied fans were carried away on stretchers
Police in the stands / Photo: © Wagner Meier / Stringer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
The meeting with the participation of star players had to be postponed for half an hour.
In international football it is difficult to imagine a more fundamental confrontation than the matches between the national teams of Brazil and Argentina. The next game of these teams turned into a loud scandal involving A-list stars.
Two of the best football players on the planet, Lionel Messi and Emiliano Martinez, took part in showdowns with rivals, fans and police.
Mass fight
The problems started even before the starting whistle. During the performance of the Argentine anthem at the legendary Maracanã, Brazilian fans shouted insults and whistled. The visiting fans did not like this, and they started a fight.
A local brawl quickly escalated into a large-scale confrontation involving dozens of fans. Not only fists were used, but also everything that came to hand, even broken chairs. The police and stewards tried to calm the angry spectators, but only provoked aggression against them and were forced to use batons.
Open video
The football players went to the stands, but they were unable to reduce the intensity of the conflict. At that moment, the best goalkeeper on the planet, according to France Football magazine, Emiliano Martinez, tried to jump and snatch the baton from a policeman in the stands. Emiliano was saved from a rash act by his teammates, who pulled him back.
Unfortunately, as a result of the brawl, several fans left the stands on stretchers. A recording appeared on social networks where an Argentine fan was carried away with a bloody head.
“What kind of cowards are we?”
Against the backdrop of a showdown between law enforcement officers and fans, Messi led the Argentines to the locker room. Only after half an hour of negotiations and the normalization of the situation at the stadium did the guests return to the field.
Before the match resumed, Messi became involved in another scandal. The captain spoke in a raised voice with the Brazilian striker Rodrigo. The Real Madrid player called the Argentines cowards. Messi again, as in the match with Uruguay, could not contain his emotions: he grabbed his opponent by the neck and responded harshly.
– We are world champions, what kind of cowards are we? Watch your language,” TyCSports published Leo’s words.
Despite all the problems and postponements, the match was still held. The fate of the game was decided by one goal scored by Argentinean Nicolas Otamendi at the beginning of the second half.
Watch live broadcasts of the 2026 World Cup qualifying matches on the Match holding channels, as well as on the websites sportbox.ru and matchtv.ru.
Source: Sportbox
Thomas Astudillo is a sports journalist and author who writes for Sportish. He has a deep love and knowledge of sports, and is known for his engaging and informative writing on the latest sports news and events.