Why were Brazil and Argentina fans not segregated?

A World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina was delayed by half an hour after police confronted visiting supporters at the Maracana.

The trouble began ahead of kick-off when Brazilian and Argentinian fans clashed during the national anthems. The police responded by charging into the crowd, sparking chaos among supporters and forcing some fans to spill onto the pitch to avoid the violence.

One Argentina supporter was seen laying on the pitch, his face bloodied, and requiring a stretcher to be taken away.

Argentina captain Lionel Messi led his team back to the changing rooms and asked for calm, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez ran to the stands to protest against the police’s handling of the situation.

Organisers warned ahead of Brazil - Argentina clash

The rivalry between Brazil and Argentina is one of the most fervent in international soccer and games involving the duo are always fractious. All 69,000 seats at Maracana were sold for Tuesday’s fixture, 3,000 of which went to the visiting Argentinian fans.

Soccer fans are typically segregated, particularly for such a high-profile fixture. At Maracana the away contingent is usually housed in one of the upper corners of the stadium, with an empty ‘buffer zone’ left below to ensure that the two groups are separated.

However that was not the case on Tuesday and Argentina supporters were placed behind one of the goals, next to some of the most passionate of Brazil supporters.

The Brazilian supporters group Anatorg warned about that situation before the game, but their advice was ignored and trouble flared up as soon as the teams took to the field. Brazilian police have a chequered recent history with crowd control and Tuesday’s violence will only further supporters’ mistrust.

What did Lionel Messi say about the Brazil - Argentina fighting?

In the aftermath of the violence some have placed the blame on the overly aggressive approach taken by the Brazilian police. Officers waded into the Argentina section with batons, striking supporters in a misguided attempt to bring the situation under control.

After the game, Messi said that he believed the Brazilian police were too heavy-handed in their response.

“We saw how they were hitting people and many players had family members in that area. We couldn’t focused on playing the game,” the Inter Miami forward said.

“This also happened here in the Copa Libertadores. [The police] again repressing the people.”

The shocking scenes in the stands, spilling out onto the pitch, forced the Argentina squad to return to the locker room and await confirmation that the situation had calmed. It was 22 minutes before the World Cup winners re-emerged.

After securing a 1-0 victory over their old rivals, Messi took to social media to reflect on a fractious night of CONMEBOL soccer.

“Great victory at the Maracana although it will be marked by the repression of Argentina fans once again in Brazil. This madness can’t be tolerated, and it has to end now!!,” he wrote.