'It could have ended in tragedy': Messi on crowd brawl during Argentina's World Cup qualifier in Brazil
New Delhi, Nov 22: Lionel Messi has expressed concern that the crowd trouble which caused a delay in Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Brazil "could have ended in tragedy".
Violence spewed between fans of Brazil and Argentina ahead of their World Cup qualifying match at the Maracana Stadium on Tuesday night. This led to the reigning World Cup champions leaving the field just moments before the scheduled kickoff.
"It was bad because we saw how they were beating people. The police, as happened in the Libertadores final, were once again repressing the people with night sticks. We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy," said Messi as quoted by BBC.
The trouble reportedly began when rival fans clashed in a stand behind one of the goals at the stadium in Rio de Janeiro during the national anthems. Local police intervened, but the violence only increased.
Messi and the Argentina squad hurried to the stands to intervene and halt the scuffle. However, they eventually left the pitch when it became apparent that the situation wasn't going to be resolved promptly.
"You think about the families, the people who are there, who don't know what's going on and we were more concerned about that than playing a match that, at that point, was of secondary importance," Messi added.
Some Argentina players attempted to intervene in the altercation, with goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez making an effort to reach the crowd. He also tried to grab a baton out of a police officer's hand, according to BBC report.
Afterwards, the players exited the field, only returning once the police had corralled the Argentina fans into a separate section of the stands. The game commenced after a 30-minute delay.
Brazil captain Marquinhos, who joined the Argentina players on the pitch calling for calm in the stands, added: "We were worried about the families, women and children, that we were seeing in panic up there in the stands.
"Down on the pitch it was hard for us to understand what was going on, it was a very scary situation."