RIO DE JANEIRO — Argentina captain Lionel Messi accused the Brazilian police of brutality as the start of Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Brazil was delayed by half an hour after police and visiting fans clashed at Maracana Stadium on Tuesday.
Brazilian and Argentine fans started fighting behind one of the goals during the national anthems, prompting police to charge at the traveling contingent with nightsticks drawn.
Some Argentina fans responded by ripping up and throwing seats at the officers as other fans panicked and went onto the pitch to escape the fighting.
An Argentina fan lay on the pitch with a bloodied face before being taken from the stadium on a stretcher.
The Argentina team, led by Messi, went over to the terraces to try to calm the situation before leaving the pitch and returning to the dressing room.
“It was bad, because we saw how they were beating people. ... The police, as it already happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with nightsticks,” Messi said in a television interview, referring to a brawl before the Copa Libertadores final, the South American club championship, in Rio this month. “There were players who had families over there.”
“We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down. It could have ended in tragedy.
“You think about the families, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on, and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance.”
Brazil captain Marquinhos, who interacted with Messi and the Argentine players as they tried to calm the situation, shared the concerns.
“We were worried about the families, women and children, that we were seeing in panic up there in the stands,” Marquinhos told reporters.
“Down on the pitch it was hard for us to understand what was going on,” he said. “It was a very scary situation.”
The Argentina players eventually returned after police corralled the visiting fans in a pen, and the match started after a lengthy delay.
Argentina won 1-0 with a 63rd-minute headed winner from defender Nicolas Otamendi. The players celebrated the victory over their fiercest rivals in front of their fans at the same end of the ground where the trouble had occurred.
It was a third straight defeat for five-time World Cup winners Brazil, who had midfielder Joelinton sent off 18 minutes from time.