Colombia weekend soccer games marred by violence

Violence hit a number of Colombia’s derby games last weekend in the 9th round of Liga Postobon matches, El Espectador newspaper reported Monday.

The violence took place before, during and after games, both inside and outside stadiums, in Medellin, Neiva, Tulua and Bucaramanga.

The worst violence happened in Tulua, Valle del Cauca, where an America de Cali fan was stabbed twice in the chest by supporters of rival Cali team Deportivo Cali as he entered the stadium on Saturday, El Tiempo reports.

Doctors managed to save the victim, performing successful surgery on the stab wounds on Sunday.

In another incident, Medellin police reported significant violence at the local game between Medellin and Atletico Nacional. Sixty-eight supporters were detained and three people were injured in clashes between rival fans. Police also seized 439 weapons and 4.4 lbs of marijuana at the same game.

As a preventative measure, minors will now be prohibited from entering the stadium, as will any supporters wearing their team’s shirt.

Elsewhere, police seized 32 weapons and arrested a number of supporters at the game between Deportes Tolima and Atletico Huila.

The incident fuelled weekend was not only restricted to Colombia’s top soccer league. On Saturday, fans of the second division club Atlantico Bucaramanga entered the team’s dressing room armed with knives and other weapons and stole items from the players.

The hooligans were arrested after the event however and arranged to return the stolen goods after their release.

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