About five million people gather in Buenos Aires to celebrate their World Cup heroes after the triumph in Qatar. Organizationally, not everything runs smoothly, the parade is canceled. Hours after the crowds have left, clashes erupt in the capital.
Clashes broke out in the capital, Buenos Aires, hours after Argentina’s World Cup victory celebrations were called off. As the US news agency AP reported, citing local media, at least eight people were injured.
Photographs showed rescuers wearing helmets and shields standing in formation around the obelisk, around which Argentinian football fans traditionally celebrate victories. According to the information, these were isolated incidents when most of the people were no longer there.
According to media reports, an estimated five million people celebrated on the city streets and tried to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi’s world champion team at a parade. Because the bus was so slow, the players were flown over Buenos Aires in helicopters. There was criticism of the behavior of the security forces and the lack of organization.
Argentina beat defending champions France 4-2 on penalties in Sunday’s World Cup final. It was the country’s third World Cup victory. The team landed in Buenos Aires early Tuesday morning local time and drove through the city in a bus for hours from that morning.
There were already incidents. For example, two fans tried to get on the Argentine national team’s bus. A man jumped from a bridge onto the team’s open-top double-decker bus, according to videos released by La Nación newspaper on Tuesday. Several players tried to dissuade him from his plan with a show of hands. A second man landed on the back of the bus, slipped, and fell onto the street. It is not yet clear whether he was injured.
(This article was first published on Wednesday, December 21, 2022.)