Five sent off in violent Boca-River “friendly” clash

Published 01/24/2016, 8:17 AM EST

Follow Us

REUTERS – Five players were sent off and Carlos Tevez gave away a penalty that handed River Plate a 1-0 win over Boca Juniors in a far from amicable seaside ‘friendly’ between Argentina’s biggest rivals on Saturday.

Argentina striker Tevez blocked a free kick with his arm in the 17th minute and Leonardo Pisculichi converted the penalty in the traditional off-season clash at the Atlantic resort of Mar de Plata.

“In four days, five sent off, in two matches, we must grow (up),” Tevez told reporters.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Champions Boca, who had three players dismissed on Saturday, also had two shown the red card in a 4-2 defeat by Racing Club in Mar del Plata in midweek.

Argentina full back Jonathan Silva, signed by Boca from Sporting of Portugal, was sent off 10 minutes into his debut for a lunge on Gabriel Mercado which forced the River defender out of the game with an injured ankle.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Boca were down to eight men against River’s 11 by the 78th minute after two more defenders were sent off, Gino Peruzzi for a foul and Daniel Diaz for insulting referee Patricio Loustau.

River then had centre back Jonathan Maidana dismissed for head butting Tevez during an argument that sparked a melee among rival players and Pisculichi was also sent off for his involvement.

“Neither of us behaved well,” Tevez said referring to himself and Maidana. “You regret it afterwards because it generates violence outside (the pitch).”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Loustau blew his whistle for 40 fouls and booked nine other players during the friendly.

(Writing by Rex Gowar, editing by Alan Baldwin)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Dhruv George

14,311Articles

One take at a time

Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.
Show More>