On August 20, a brutal brawl erupted in Argentina, at the Estadio Libertadores de América, home grounds of Club Atlético Independiente, against visitor fans from Universidad de Chile, resulting in 22 people injured and 100 arrested. Chilean fans from the visitor's zone of the stadium threw objects to the Argentinian fans, and they responded invading the visitor's zone. At the time, leaders from both clubs, and even political leaders from Chile and Argentina, denounced violence in football, but avoided responsibility, putting the blame on the fans from the other club.
The match, round of 16 encounter on CONMEBOL South American Cup, the second biggest competition between clubs in South America, was 1-1 (2-1 for Universidad de Chile in aggregate) when it was stopped early in the second half, and did not restart. CONMEBOL decided to harshly punish Independiente, eliminating it from the competition.
Today, Club Atlético Independiente has released a statement directed to CONMEBOL President, Alejandro Domínguez, describing the decision as unfair, one sided and political, an "insult to the memory of millions of fans who built the greatness of this continent with sacrifice and passion".
"We have to see and feel how a group of visiting fans, who came to our stadium with the clear intention of attacking our fans, are surely celebrating today that their acts of violence have resulted in their team qualifying."
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"Benefiting only one side sends a dangerous message given the magnitude of the violence. That's why we want to ask Argentine clubs and their players for the support they may need one day, because this precedent, and hopefully we're wrong, is leading us toward a dark place for the future of fair competition."