Four Dead as Rival Fans Riot at Honduras Soccer Game

Four people have died from injuries suffered in a soccer riot in Honduras on Saturday night [...]

By Brian Jones

Four people have died from injuries suffered in a soccer riot in Honduras on Saturday night according to USA Today. There were also three soccer players injured in the riot. The soccer match that was scheduled between the Motagua and Olimpia soccer clubs was supposed to be played at National Stadium in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras. Fans started throwing objects at the Motagua team bus which led to three of the players from Motagua suffering injuries as the bus windows were shattered. Those three players, who were identified as Emilio Izaguirre, Roberto Moreira and Jonathan Rougier, were transported to a local hospital.

USA Today said 20,000 fans were expected to be at the match which was canceled. However, the violence continued as close to 10,000 fans stayed in the area for the riots. The Associated Press reported that three people died from the riots on Saturday night while one died on Sunday. There were also three people in stable condition as of yesterday.

Marcos Castellanos was the bust driver for Motagua and he said the bus was hit with objects while he was driving.

"We were leaving the hotel when about 250 people attacked the bus with bottles in the street," said Castellanos.

National Stadium is now closed the National League did not set a new date for the match.

''We regret these situations and I call on the fans of Olimpia and other teams in the National League to avoid carrying out these acts which damage soccer,'' said Olimpia president Rafael Villeda.

The Ministry of Security released a statement which described the events that led up to the riot.

"Once the National Football League announced the cancellation of the match, fans of both teams staged a confrontation outside the stadium," the Ministry said.

Fighting and violence related to soccer in Honduras are nothing new. In fact, one of the most famous battles is between Honduras and El Salvador back in 1969 according to the Independent. In that battle, which is known as "The Soccer War," both fanbases went back and forth for four days as both teams were looking to qualify for the 1970 World Cup. There were also some political issues that both teams were fighting for, but the war ended when Salvadorian troops were withdrawn on July 18, 1969.

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