Angry River fans protest at Monumental
Reuters - Friday 24 June 2011, 01:56
BUENOS AIRES - Hundreds of furious
River Plate fans tried to storm the Monumental on Thursday,
a day after their team moved to the brink of relegation for the
first time in their 110-year existence.
River, record 33 times league champions, lost 2-0 against
Nacional B side Belgrano in Cordoba on
Wednesday in the first leg of a play-off. They need to finish
level on aggregate to stay in the top flight.
Fans clad in River's red and white colours screamed insults
at players and club president Daniel Passarella and demanded the
head of coach JJ Lopez. They squared up to police outside the
empty stadium and also hurled insults at reporters.
After flying back from Cordoba on Thursday, River headed
straight for Hindu rugby club outside the capital looking for
quiet to prepare for Sunday's home second leg.
About 500 fans also gathered outside Hindu to vent their
anger at what they perceive to be a lack of commitment from the
players. Some fans carried a banner that read: "Kill or die."
Wednesday's match was interrupted for 20 minutes after River
fans broke through perimeter fencing and onto the pitch to
remonstrate with their own team's players and demand more effort
after they had fallen two goals behind.
River are paying for years of mismanagement on and off the
pitch which has left them with a low three-season points average
with which relegation is decided in Argentina's top flight.
Passarella, widely criticised for not going to Cordoba, was
at Hindu with the squad while the club issued a statement saying
he would give a news conference next week to explain how the
administration his board succeeded 18 months ago was responsible
for the club's disastrous state.