Copa Libertadores final second leg between River Plate and Boca Juniors moved outside Argentina

The postponed Copa Libertadores final second leg between River Plate and Boca Juniors will be played outside Argentina following crowd violence, CONMEBOL has announced.

The rescheduled match will be played on December 8 or 9 at a venue yet to be decided.

Saturday’s initial game was delayed until Sunday after supporters attacked the Boca Juniors bus, with it then being postponed.

Several Boca Juniors players were injured when the windows on their bus were broken on the way to River Plate’s Estadio Monumental stadium.

“It will be played outside Argentina because the conditions do not exist for the game to be played in Argentina,” CONMEBOL President Alejandro Dominguez told a news conference, following a meeting with representatives of River and Boca.

The decision has yet to be validated by the soccer body’s disciplinary committee. It may yet be played behind closed doors.

Boca wanted River to be disqualified and club president Daniel Angelici said he will appeal the decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport “if needed”. He said he did not agree on the new dates.

The first leg had finished 2-2.

The showdown between the fierce Buenos Aires rivals was billed as the greatest final in the competition’s 58-year history.

Both legs were sold out and fans and media came from around the world to watch what many consider to be one of the most bitter rivalries and impressive spectacles in world sport.

However, Argentine football was disgraced after River fans threw stones and missiles at the Boca bus as it made its way to the stadium, breaking windows and injuring players.

Tear gas or pepper spray got into the vehicle, disorienting players and causing some to vomit. Boca captain Pablo Perez was taken to hospital with cuts to his eye and several other players suffered lacerations caused by shards of glass from broken windows.

Even though the stadium was filled to capacity, Boca said they were in no state to play the game and CONMEBOL first delayed the match and then postponed it until Sunday.

On Sunday, they called the game off once again after Boca complained that a fair contest could not be guaranteed if the game was played at the River stadium.

The postponements of what was supposed to have been a gala occasion for South American football was a huge embarrassment to CONMEBOL and Argentina, which this week hosts a summit of the Group of 20 industrialized nations.

The Paraguayan capital of Asuncion has been suggested as one venue to host the rescheduled game, as has Miami. Cities in Italy, Brazil and Colombia have also reportedly offered to host the game.

The new date will ensure the Libertadores champions can compete in this year’s Club World Cup, which starts on December 12 in the United Arab Emirates.

The CONMEBOL winners play their first match in the tournament on December 18 and could face UEFA Champions League winners Real Madrid in the final.

(c) Sky News 2018: Copa Libertadores final second leg between River Plate and Boca Juniors moved outside Argentina