Seventy-One Fans Crushed at Puerta 12 During Historic Superclásico History

Seventy-one fans were crushed in 1968 when an exit gate failed to fully open at the Superclásico between Boca Juniors and River Plate. Back then, the gang leaders of Boca and River were actually friends who bought meat from each other. Things have grown much darker over the decades since. In 1994, two River Plate fans were shot dead after a match while reporter interviews were tied up in tragedy. By 2013, visiting fans were banned entirely from matches across Argentina to keep things family-friendly. That ban created a strange new normal where away goals must be met with silent repression in the press box. Even when away fans made a one-off return for the 2018 Libertadores final, the team bus was stoned and the match had to be moved to Madrid. Sunday brought a quieter spectacle at La Bombonera. Boca claimed an underwhelming one-nil victory against a nine-man River side to secure a spot in next year's Libertadores. Radio commentator Victor Hugo Morales marked sixty years since his very first broadcast by noting he had seen better derbies, but also worse ones.