FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Argentina Primera Division - Boca Juniors v River Plate - Estadio La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina - September 21, 2024 Boca Juniors club president Juan Roman Riquelme is pictured REUTERS/Agustin Marcarian/File Photo
(Reuters) - Former Argentina midfielder and Boca Juniors president Juan Roman Riquelme had to intervene to prevent a confrontation between the fans of Boca and Gimnasia La Plata during Wednesday's Copa Argentina quarter-final in Rosario.
Fans of the two clubs have clashed before, with one spectator dying in 2022 after police fired tear gas to break up violence outside the stadium, which then drifted into the arena, causing breathing problems and panic.
Riquelme left his box along with some of the club's council members to pacify Boca fans as the match came to a halt due fans attempting to break down barriers in the stands to confront each other.
The players also pleaded with the fans and the police to calm down, and the tension eventually de-escalated.
Boca, who prevailed in the penalty shootout after a 1-1 stalemate, will play Velez Sarsfield in the semi-finals.
(Reporting by Chiranjit Ojha in Bengaluru; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
