Chilean Clash With Police Sparks Controversy At FIFA U-20 Tourney

It was an ugly loss as Argentina defeated Chile 3-0 in a yellow card-filled semifinal match at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, but even worse was what happened off the field.

Members of the Chilean team scrapped with police and security after the game, and one person with the Chileans was tasered by officers during the brawl. It happened as players were getting on the team bus outside Toronto’s BMO Field Thursday night. A spokesperson with the soccer tourney, speaking early Friday about the incident, said that though the police temporarily detained members of the team none of them were arrested or charged.

“All (Chilean) players have been released from custody of the police to care of the Chilean delegation,” FIFA spokesman John Schumacher said.

The incident began just as the game ended and Chilean players and officials rushed the field, accosting the referee, at which point police were called to the field. As the players were leaving the BMO stadium, an alleged altercation began between an Argentinian fan and a player. When police intervened players supposedly turned their aggression towards the officers.

At least one Chilean player was tasered and all players were detained by officers, some being led away bloody and handcuffed. Though they were released the team’s coach was angry about what happened.

“The police, I don’t know which is the problem , the police with Chile or Latino, I don’t know,” noted Jose Sulantay.

A Chilean player interviewed in Santiago ‘s El Mercurio newspaper talked about what happened to him Thursday night, including being tasered, hit with batons and stung with tear gas.

“They gave me electric shocks. I fainted, and when I regained consciousness I saw that 10 police officers were hitting me and throwing acid in my face,” says Isaias Perralta.

The semi-final was a tense one from the start – with seven yellow cards issued to Chile and two to Argentina, as well as two red card ejections for Chile. In all 53 fouls were called during the game, more than half of them (30) against Chile. The referees drew the ire of the Chilean players, who reportedly ran at them at the end of the game. The officiants were escorted off the pitch by police.

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair defended the actions of his officers in a statement Friday.

In it, he said: “The job of my officers was to respond in a firm, but fair, manner to end that violence. They are trained to do so, and that is what they did.”

International reaction, especially in Chile, has been harsh. Chilean president Michelle Bachelet was upset and reacted quickly after hearing players had been hurt by Toronto police, contacting her external affairs minister Thursday evening to ask him to send a diplomatic note.

“I n our opinion, what happened is particularly serious because the Chilean delegation suffered an unjustified use of force,” says Bachelet.

External Affairs Minister Alejandro Foxley later confirmed in a news conference that he had sent a letter to his Canadian counterpart Peter MacKay.

“You can’t treat people, who have gone there to represent Chile in a sporting event, like this,” says Foxley.

“Above all, we decided to send a diplomatic note … to make them understand the malaise in Chile over what happened, the excessive violence, and to formally ask them to give us a detailed explanation of why this happened and who is responsible.”

Photo courtesy CityNews viewer Stephanie.

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Links to youtube videos (warning, videos may contain violence and vulgar language):

Substituted players and officials from Chilean team rush the field after the game.

Chilean news story with clips from various sources, including brawl. (Spanish)

Fights break out among fans after the game.

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Full Statement from Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair:

Emotions were running very high during, and following, Chile’s 3-0 semifinal loss to Argentina in the FIFA U-20 World Cup. The Chilean team was apparently unhappy with the refereeing, they were clearly unhappy that they lost the match, and they confronted the referees afterwards. My officers were forced to intervene, initially, to protect the referees.

As the teams were leaving the stadium, an argument broke out between a member of the Chilean team and a rival fan. My officers were forced to intervene, again, to end the dispute. Members of the Chilean team then decided to direct some of their aggressive behaviour towards my officers.

The job of my officers was to respond in a firm, but fair, manner to end that violence. They are trained to do so, and that is what they did. We will look, in detail, into what happened last night to see what changes, if any, we need to make to the policing arrangements for Sunday’s matches.

I want to take this opportunity to recognize the contributions by FIFA officials and members of the Chilean delegation to help resolve last night’s incident. Their efforts were much appreciated.