Match Canceled In Chile After Fans Storm Field And Go Apeshit

This has just about everything you get from horrible soccer fandom: A bunch of idiots on the field, indiscriminate wielding of metal poles, flares, chairs being used as weapons, riot police, and a match ruined because the guys in the stadium would rather demonstrate their superiority mano a mano rather than sublimating it through the teams on the pitch.

Yesterday was supposed to be Colo Colo’s and Santiago Wanderers’ finale of the first half of the Chilean league season. A Colo Colo win or a loss by Católica in their simultaneously scheduled match would give Colo Colo the title. There was a lot on the line, is what I’m saying.

Apparently, all of the excitement had the fans a little too keyed up. Right as the match was supposed to kick off, a few guys in the stadium started rushing out on the track surrounding the field and generally making a nuisance of themselves.

The players, refs, and security sought to get the punks to hop back over into the stands, but this only emboldened more fans to venture out onto the field of play. Soon there were too many fans out and about to realistically corral any time soon, so the ref took the players off the field while the matter was addressed.

What came next, well, see for yourself. Here’s a quick clip of some of the chaos:

This next one isn’t the best quality, but gives you a good understanding of the battling, which at times resembled a game of dodgechair with a little pseudo-lightsaber dueling mixed in:

And if you’re really invested, this 20 minute video takes you through the whole affair:

The hysteria wasn’t contained solely inside the stadium, as you can see by these fans outside hurling huge rocks into the windshield of a car:

Católica did lose, so Colo Colo won the title even though the match was canceled. Still, none of the fans at the stadium came away winners that day.

Top photo via AP