Mexico’s soccer federation said Tuesday it will ban clubs of rowdy fans known as “barras” from attending away matches after a mass weekend brawl among soccer fans that left over two dozen people injured, three of them critically.
The federation and top-division league owners announced that the host team in Saturday’s match, Queretaro, will have to play home matches without fans for one year after stadium security was shown to be inadequate.
The Queretaro team’s fan club, or “barra,” will be banned from attending even local games for three years. The team’s owner will be required to sell his stake in it and the current team management will be banned from the league for five years.
The federation also levied a fine of about $70,000 USD and ruled the Saturday match — which had been tied 1-1 when the fighting broke out — to be a 3-0 win for the opposing team, Atlas from the city of Guadalajara.
The club owners said they would institute measures to identify fans entering stadiums.
Authorities in the north-central state of Queretaro said earlier Tuesday they had arrested 13 suspects in the brawl. A 14th suspect was turned in by his mother to the police. Officials said that raids and searches are continuing in several cities to find the others.
Guadalupe Murguía, the interior secretary of Queretaro state, said a total of 26 people had been identified as participating in the brawl.
The arrests were based on a review of videos and other evidence from the Saturday confrontation.
The state has suspended five officials after security forces at the stadium were unable to control the violence. They include police and civil defense employees, and three people responsible for planning and preparations.
The private company partly responsible for security at the soccer stadium also had its contracts canceled.
Police were also at the venue when the brawl occurred Saturday at a match between Queretaro and Atlas, the reigning league champion.
Source: OEM
