Police in rural Bangladesh has closed down the Copa America 2021 finals on Sunday between Brazil vs Argentina following clashes between rival supporters.
A long-running feud between fans of South American two giants has escalated after they won the semi-finals in Brazil and Peru to establish a final against Lionel Messi of Argentina, police said on Thursday.
An argument between two boys over which country played the best football turned into a street fight with fans beating each other with sticks and throwing punches in Brahmanbaria, 120 kilometers east of Dhaka, local police chief Mohammad Amranul Islam told AFP.
According to AFP, Islam said police had warned of the Copa America finals on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, more than 15,000 kilometers away.
“We told the locals that they could not watch the Copa America Final game on the big screens. We went to the villages and told them that they could not hold the meeting for the last time,” Islam said.
Cricket is Bangladesh’s biggest and most popular sport but the country of 168 million people is the center of football enthusiasm for the FIFA World Cup and Copa America.
Millions of Brazilian and Argentine fans hoist their favorite national flags in their homes and on the street wearing team shirts. A problem arises.
During the 2018 World Cup, a 12-year-old boy was electrocuted and died while hoisting the Brazilian flag on a stake. A man and his son were seriously injured when supporters of rival factions clashed in the town of Bandar.
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