Conmebol has announced that the postponed second leg of the Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors will now be held outside of Argentina on either the 8 or 9 December, with the tie too dangerous to be played in the country.
The governing body of South American football met today in Luque, Paraguay to determine the fate of the match, after attacks by River fans on the Boca team bus hospitalised two players and caused the second-leg to be postponed indefinitely.
Conmebol president, Alejandro Dominguez, spoke with representatives from both Boca and River at the meeting, before announcing that a new date and venue would be confirmed ”as soon as possible”, with Boca Juniors President Daniel Angelici claiming to be dissatisfied with the newly suggested dates.
“The conditions to play in Argentina are not right," Dominguez said in a press conference after the meeting. “Football is not about violence, it is decided with goals. Football is not what we saw on the weekend. That is a disease that needs to be eradicated.”
The delay is designed to give Boca's players suitable time to recover with many squad members still suffering from dizziness and vomiting due to the tear gas used by Argentinian police to disperse River's hostile fans. Boca captain, Pablo Perez, is also still nurturing an eye injury after suffering splinter wounds from the team bus' windows which were shattered by thrown rocks and bottles.
It remains unclear whether the match will now be played behind closed doors or not, despite being held in another country, but Dominguez added that Conmebol will make sure suitable security measures are in place with the relevant host when decided.
Boca had originally requested that Conmebol disqualify River and award them the Copa Libertadores trophy by default.
It’s believed that the UAE is the frontrunner to hold the final, with the winner going on to play in the Club World Cup being hosted by the country in the week following the new scheduled date.
However, the government of Genoa have surprisingly also put themselves forward as potential hosts.
