Argentine football coach Mauricio Romero was shot in the shoulder during a third-tier match between Huracan Las Heras and Ferro de General Pico in Mendoza province on Sunday 31st October.
A video from Canal 3 Pampa (Argentine TV) showed players from both teams and the match officials running for cover while fans hid behind walls, as shots were fired around the ground. According to Argentine sports newspaper Ole, Ferro coach Romero received a gunshot wound to the shoulder as Huracan fan groups fought among each other.
Players from both sides were filmed fleeing the pitch after Mauricio Romero was hit with the bullet. He was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital where he is said to be “doing well and out of danger." Witnesses said the shooting started outside the stadium but continued inside as hooligan home fans tried to force their way into the ground. Families watching from the stands threw themselves to the ground as the gunshots rang out.
Footage of the moment away side head coach Romero, wearing a yellow reflective jacket, was hit showed him grab his left shoulder as he disappeared out of camera shot and players ducked down before sprinting towards the changing rooms along with match officials.
Huracan were leading the Federal A league match 3-1 before it was suspended late in the second half. “Romero is doing well and out of danger,” Ferro later tweeted. “After leaving the stadium he underwent tests in a local hospital and is now giving a statement to police.”
A club statement read: “We are aware that we have been part of a barbarism that is difficult to understand and explain, which will mark the sports and institutional career of the professional team and our club."
“Once and for all, the leaders of our Argentine soccer must take exemplary measures that allow us to continue believing in this sport. The sanction already exceeds sports, requiring a political decision that severely punishes the unusual events. Our Institution will always watch over the values, integrity and health of our athletes, which allow us to pass the competences of the different disciplines. Today more than ever, those who direct the destinies of soccer must mark the way for us with actions so that we never experience a similar situation again.”
Meanwhile, Huracan said in a Facebook post that the fighting was “ruining” the club. “For years families have been chased from grounds. May all those that harm the club stay away so that the real fans can return.”
Sunday’s shooting in Argentina occurred the same day a similar incident stopped play in an U-20 match in Brazil. Thankfully no-one was injured in the incident in Macae in Rio de Janeiro state between Serra Macaense and Carapebus. In August a referee was filmed restoring order after a controversial penalty decision in the western Honduran town of La Jigua by pulling out a gun. Local reports said the unnamed ref brandished the pistol to protect himself from angry supporters who thought he should have awarded their side a penalty. A relative is said to have handed him the weapon at the end of the match as he was jeered by the furious fans.