Argentina captain Lionel Messi says his side’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil “could have ended in tragedy” after crowd trouble at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
Brazil captain Marquinhos added that it was a “very scary situation”, with photographs of the match and video on social media appearing to show police with batons clashing with supporters in the stands.
Ahead of kick-off, which had been scheduled for 9.30pm local time on Tuesday, Messi and other Argentina players went to the stands and spoke to fans, before going back to their dressing room. The Argentina players then re-emerged with the match starting almost half an hour late.
“We saw how they were hitting the people, again repressing the people,” Messi said, via Reuters.
“It already happened in the (Copa) Libertadores final (where there were clashes between Boca Juniors and Fluminense supporters and the police at the Maracana). We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy.”
Several fans appeared to sustain injuries during the crowd disturbances.
“We were worried about the families, women and children, that we were seeing in panic up there in the stands,” Marquinhos said.
“Down on the pitch, it was hard for us to…
