The Brazil vs Argentina CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier at the Maracana Stadium on Tuesday night was delayed by around 30 minutes after clashes between police and fans in the stands in Rio de Janeiro.
Nicolas Otamendi's second-half goal gave Argentina a 1-0 win, handing Brazil its first home defeat in World Cup qualifying. Brazil entered the game 51-13-0 in 64 such matches.
Locals and Argentina fans clashed during the playing of the national anthem, after which Brazilian police baton-charged the visiting squad. The fans retaliated by throwing seats at the officials.
Fans near the trouble panicked and came onto the pitch to escape the fighting. At least one injured fan was taken from the stadium on a stretcher.
Argentina players asked those in the stands for calm before Lionel Messi led them back to the dressing room. Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano MartÃnez raced to one of the rails in front of his team's fans to ask police to stop the violence.
"We saw how they [the police] were hitting people and many players had family members in that area. We couldn't focused on playing the game," Messi said after the game. "This also happened here in the Copa Libertadores. [The Brazilian police] again repressing the people."
