Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper, Emiliano Martínez was seen trying to take the baton of a policeman from his hand as commotion broke out in the stands before Argentina and Brazil’s crucial World Cup qualifier.
Despite the players’ best efforts to diffuse the situation, fans and police battled at the Maracana stadium on Tuesday night, forcing the game to be postponed for about thirty minutes.
After play started, the defending world champions intended to overcome and inflict defeat to Brazil in a World Cup qualifier at home, and they succeeded in doing so.
Though it came against the run of play. Nicolas Otamendi’s 63rd goal came from a header that he steered past Alisson in the Brazil penalty area, rising like a salmon to catch onto Giovani Lo Celso’s cross.
How Did The Ugly Situation Occur At The Maracana Stadium?
According to GiveMeSport, during their respective national anthems, chaos between the two groups of fans began to flare up. The police decided to charge at the visiting fans in an attempt to restore peace and order.
However, they were seen shockingly assaulting the fans with batons. The devout of La Albiceleste retaliated by ripping up chairs and smashing them at the on-duty police officers.
As the sparks started to fly, the Argentina team and Brazil’s Marquinhos were seen approaching the stands in an effort to diffuse the tension. Disturbed by such savagery, Martinez tried to jump into the stand to support his fellow countrymen.
Emiliano Martinez trying to stop the police beating the Argentinian supporters in the stands
— Best Goalkeeper Saves (@BestSavesGK) November 22, 2023
The 31-year-old shotstopper, who was obviously irate, continued to angrily gesture and yell at one police officer in particular. While attempting to manhandle another and brandish a baton towards the Argentine support.
After that, his teammates and pitch-side security stepped in, and he was escorted away from the ensuing commotion, turmoil, and annoyance.
After the game, Lionel Messi, spoke of his disgust on how the policemen treated the Argentinian faithful.
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“We saw how the police were hitting people, also with some of our families here. It also happened in the [Copa] Libertadores final, against repressing the people.
They are more focused on that than playing the game. We are a family. We decided to play to make the situation more calm.”
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