River Plate banned from home ground for 5 games after violence

Buenos Aires, Feb 17: Football crowd violence is again making the headlines in Argentina with fans of Buenos Aires giants River Plate banned from their home ground for five games on Friday (February 16th) following violent clashes last weekend. The decision came a day after supporters clashed before the third division match between Talleres de Remedios de Escalada and Los Andes. Football crowd violence is again making the headlines in Argentina with the latest episode taking place on Thursday before the match between third-division rivals Talleres de Remedios de Escalada and Los Andes on the outskirts of the capital Buenos Aires. More than 50 people were injured, two of them by bullets, and several cars and houses were damaged. Two weeks ago, fans of second division club Deportivo Moron were banned from seeing their side at home for a year after crowd trouble following their defeat to Social Espanol in December. And last Sunday, River Plate supporters clashed before their opening Clausura championship match against Lanus. No arrests were made but several fans fled as rival groups of River hooligans, some brandishing knives, fought for supremacy at their home stadium, El Monumental. Argentina Football Association president Julio Grondona said on Friday that he would not rush to make a decision on River's fate but indicated that it would be in line with previous punishments. Bureau Report