Argentina defeated Brazil, 1–0, in a World Cup qualifier match in Rio De Janeiro on Tuesday night, but the game was marred by a violent altercation between fans before it even started. Consequently, Lionel Messi and the Argentinian team approached the stands where the incident was happening and then walked off the field before the game was scheduled to begin while the Brazilian team remained in place.
After the match, Messi addressed the situation and why the team approached the stands during the altercation in a post-match interview.
“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 night sticks. There were players who had families over there,” Messi said after the game, via Reuters. “We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down. It could have ended in tragedy.”
