Sections of Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro descended into chaos and violence ahead of a South American World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Brazil, delaying the match for 27 minutes and sending the Argentinian team back to its locker room.
The match, which was set to start at 7:30 p.m. ET, didn’t get underway until roughly 8 p.m. after things in the stands calmed down.
Argentinian and Brazilian fans seated close to one another began to fight and had to be separated by security, leading to more violence, according to video from the fray.
Video from the broadcast and from inside the stadium showed security guards using severe force to push Argentina fans away from their Brazilian counterparts.
One video appeared to show authorities swinging batons and striking fans in order to separate them.
Spectators could be seen trying to hop onto the field to escape the advancing security.
Another video showed the Argentinian team walking over to the seats to try and calm things down, and at one point, Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez attempted to intervene and try to quell the violence.
A security guard appeared to push the keeper from getting into the stands, and Martinez’s teammates eventually pulled him back.
Eventually, Argentinian star Lionel Messi led his team off the pitch and back into the locker room until the situation subsided.
Parts of seats were flung and struck a fan in a section behind one of the nets, and one fan was seen bleeding from their head as they left the stadium, according to The Associated Press.
Argentinian told Brazilian officials that the team wouldn’t return to the field until the situation ended, which kept them in the locker room for 22 minutes before returning to the pitch and then warming up for another few minutes, per the AP.
Brazil’s team remained on the field during the entire incident.
As the match began, police and security bolstered their presence around the section of Argentinian fans.
Before all the chaos, Messi had received some cheers ahead of the game from Brazilian fans, some of whom had been wearing his jersey from his days at Barcelona and his current team, Inter Miami, according to the AP.
