South American final in Madrid is a one-off, says Infantino

BUENOS AIRES, (Reuters) - - The decision to play the South American Copa Libertadores final between River Plate and Boca Juniors in Madrid should not signal the start of a new trend, FIFA President Gianni Infantino said on Saturday.

South American final in Madrid is a one-off, says Infantino

(Reuters)





The Buenos Aires derby will be the first major continental final to be played outside its home region, leading to speculation that other domestic and international competitions could follow suit.

Spain's La Liga wants to stage a regular season match between Barcelona and Girona in Miami but has run into fierce opposition including from FIFA itself.

"Football is based on national associations who play their competitions in their countries and continental competitions who play on their continents and then FIFA who can play its competitions everywhere," Infantino said.

"This is one of the strengths of football we should protect."

The second leg of the final between River Plate and Boca Juniors was postponed on Nov. 24 after the Boca team bus was attacked and players injured as it approached River’s Monumental stadium.

Another attempt to play the following day also failed as the game was again called off.

"This is an exceptional situation," added Infantino, who was at the stadium. "A game which already has a huge rivalry couldn't be played." However, he supported CONMEBOL's decision on this occasion.

"Football must always carry on, to not play a game is always a defeat," he said, speaking at a news conference during the G20 summit.

He suggested the incidents would not affect Argentina's bid to host the 2030 World Cup along with Uruguay and Paraguay.

"The decision for the 2030 World Cup will be taken in around four years and there is a lot of time to work," he said.

"It's not the only game in the world where this has happened.....I remember a derby in Zurich where the match had to be stopped because of violence in the stadium."

"I really wanted to see this Superclasico, a game that any supporter wants to see once their life...and I left very sad," Infantino said.









(Reporting by Brian Homewood, editing by Ed Osmond)


Share
2 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
South American final in Madrid is a one-off, says Infantino | SBS News