Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun
Thursday, July 4, 2013 | 4:45 p.m.
- Passions spill out of control at ‘El Super Clasico’ in Las Vegas
- When fans noticed poor security, they went back to cars to bring in liquor bottles to soccer game
- Massive brawl sets the tone for violent Mexican soccer event at Sam Boyd Stadium
- Not so super: This Clasico overshadowed by poor fan behavior
Rowdy fans and massive brawls among Mexican soccer fans at El Super Clasico exhibition match Wednesday night has fans worrying that major clubs may avoid the area in the future.
Fans brawled in a parking lot before the game and on the field after Chivas scored against rival Club America at Sam Boyd Stadium that ended with hundreds of fans on the field. Dozens of people were injured throughout the night, including six in a pregame parking lot fracas.
Their behavior at Las Vegas’ first high-profile soccer match since Real Madrid faced Santos Laguna last August has fans worried that major soccer clubs might see the area as less attractive.
Alvaro Puentes, program director for ESPN Deportes in Las Vegas, said match organizers should take a cue from Mexican stadium security, which has separate entrances for fans of opposing teams and don’t allow glass bottles or other possibly dangerous projectiles into the stadium.
The violence is a bad omen for future soccer matches in Las Vegas, he said.
“This was a really, really bad day for soccer in Las Vegas,” Puentes said. “There is another soccer game coming soon between Morelia and a team from El Salvador and I heard that maybe they will cancel the game because this was so bad.”
Officials expected tension between fans during the match due to the history between the clubs, the size of the crowd and the heat, but blamed the fights mainly on the behavior of unruly fans, stadium manager Mike Newcombe said.
“One thing we can do is prepare,” he said. “We unfortunately can’t control everyone’s behavior.”
Vince Garate, member of U.S. soccer fan club American Outlaws, said fans were constantly trying to push the limits of security. He pointed to the relative calm during breaks in the match and in the stadium’s bathrooms, but once fans began climbing onto the field the situation grew violent.
“I saw no problems in the stands at all until people started jumping on the field, then everyone started losing their minds,” he said.
Garate said the rivalry between the clubs, which he compared to the baseball rivalry between the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, led him to believe there would be some conflict, but events escalated far too quickly and dangerously.
“This is a friendly, it shouldn’t have gotten out of hand like that,” he said. “I really hope it doesn’t affect us having another game.”
Sun reporter Tovin Lapan contributed to this story.
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