Uruguayan winger Varela, from Flamengo, was caught in the middle of the confusion

Peñarol fans were involved in widespread confusion this Wednesday, in Rio, hours before the duel with Botafogo, in the first leg of the Copa Libertadores semi-finals. Gathered at Praia do Recreio dos Bandeirantes, in the west of the capital of Rio de Janeiro, Uruguayans looted kiosks and clashed with the Military Police Shock Battalion. Motorcycles and a bus were set on fire in the confusion

“This afternoon, Peñarol fans started a disturbance with a group of people, in addition to committing a series of acts of vandalism, looting and depredation of commercial establishments and vehicles. Given the severity, police were called to contain the disturbance”, reported the Military Police.

Governor Cláudio Castro also spoke out on social media. “Rio is not a place for riots. I ordered the police to arrest, take to the police station and escort out of Rio de Janeiro the Peñarol fans, who are causing widespread confusion in the West Zone. We are already taking more of 200 detainees”, he wrote.

Images of the chaos were released by Record TV on social media. Mayor Eduardo Paes (PSD) spoke on his account on X (formerly Twitter) stating that he reported to the authorities the possibility of a violent episode. “We warned the Military Police a few times that the location and model would cause these problems!”

Flamengo’s right-back Guillermo Varela was caught with fans during the riot at Recreio. The player, who also defends the celestial team, was revealed in Peñarol’s youth categories. The red-and-black from Rio reported that the athlete received a call from two friends and went to get them out of the mess. “The full-back is on his way to a get-together with the cast and coaching staff. The matter has been handed over to the VP of Football, Marcos Braz,” wrote the club.

Varela suffered reprisals from Flamengo fans who were there. The red-and-black team from Rio was eliminated from the Libertadores precisely by Peñarol, which made the fans even more angry. On social media, the full-back stated that it was a misunderstanding.

“Nação Rubro-Negra, as recorded on social media, I was at Praia do Recreio to rescue two friends who were scared by the confusion. I did not participate in any act of violence. We lost contact as soon as I arrived at the scene. I waited for 15 minutes and went approached by military police officers who were doing their job. After everything was resolved, I went for lunch with my teammates and technical committee. I already spoke with the vice-president of football, Marcos Braz. commitment to taking Flamengo to titles”, wrote the athlete.

Earlier, police officers from the Specialized Events Policing Battalion (Bepe) were carrying out a preventive operation with a group of Peñarol fans in Recreio when they received an alert about cell phone theft in stores. After a search, the device was found with one of the group members. The case was taken to the 16th DP.

This is not the first time that Peñarol fans have been involved in confusion in Rio. In September, when the Uruguayan team faced Flamengo, a group of 20 Uruguayans clashed with Flamengo fans at Praia da Macumba, in the west zone, with exchanges of aggressions. The police were called to intervene in the fight.

In 2020, Roberto Vieira de Almeida, a 54-year-old Flamengo fan, died after being hospitalized for ten months in a serious condition. He was attacked by a Uruguayan in April 2019 when he tried to break up a fight between Uruguayans and Flamengo fans on Copacabana beach, hours before a match between the teams for the Libertadores.

Botafogo and Peñarol face each other at Engenhão, at 9:30 pm. In the early hours of this Wednesday, black and white fans carried out an intense fireworks display in front of the hotel where Peñarol is staying, in Barra da Tijuca. The return match takes place next Wednesday, October 30, in Montevideo.