The violence that occurred Wednesday night at the Libertadores de América stadium, which forced the suspension of the match between Independiente and Universidad de Chile and left at least 19 injured according to the visiting club (the Buenos Aires police confirmed seven), already has immediate repercussions in CONMEBOL's offices.
This Thursday, Independiente's executives, Néstor Grindetti (president), Carlos Montaña (vice president), Daniel Seoane (general secretary), and attorney Maximiliano Walker, will travel to Luque, Paraguay, to meet with the authorities of the South American entity. There, the club's future in the 2025 Copa Sudamericana will be decided.
CONMEBOL tiene la última palabra
The situation is delicate. Within CONMEBOL, severe sanctions are being considered, since both teams could be disqualified from the tournament and punished with the inability to participate in international competitions during the coming years, in addition to receiving significant financial fines.
Grindetti, before traveling, assured that Independiente will do everything possible to prove its innocence: "We're going to defend Independiente's interests, because it hasn't had anything to do with this," the president stated in a conversation with TyC Sports.
The immediate comparison arises with Boca's precedent in 2015, when the club was eliminated from the Copa Libertadores after the well-remembered "Panadero" incident, in which pepper spray was thrown at River players. At that time, the South American entity awarded the series to Millonario, sanctioned Xeneize with a $200,000 fine, and imposed two international matches behind closed doors.
El en caso del gas pimienta, solo fue sancionado Boca
The difference, some executives point out, is thatboth factions were involved in the recent events, both Independiente's barra and Universidad de Chile supporters, which could further complicate the disciplinary outlook.
The future of the series, which will no longer be played on the field, will be in CONMEBOL's hands, which must make an exemplary decision to prevent incidents of this magnitude from recurring on the continent.
