River played again in an empty monumental after almost four years

After almost four years in which the Monumental looked full in virtually all matches that River He played at home, the stands of that stadium were empty again this Tuesday night during an official match.

The last game played under these conditions had been registered in 2021by the local tournament, although on that occasion it was due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic of covid-19 And now it’s about A Conmebol sanction.

In the pale zero draw against Barcelona in Guayaquil, for the second date of the group phase of the Copa Libertadores, The shouts prevailed in Núñez on the field About the breath of an audience that this time was absent for reasons of force majeure.

The closest antecedent dated September 19, 2021, when the successful first cycle of Marcelo Gallardo was still developed. On that occasion, River won at home 1-0 thanks to a goal against Emiliano Méndez.

A few months before, meanwhile, the last game was registered by closed doors until tonight in the international arena. It was also for the Copa Libertadores, when the millionaire cast lost without its people 1-0 against Atlético Mineiro, for the first leg of the quarterfinals of that 2021 edition.

The color fact of that day is that the goal of the Brazilian team was scored by Ignacio Fernández, who later returned to Núñez and currently integrates the squad that Gallardo drives, and that that night he left expelled.

Unlike those two games, this time River had to play by closed doors for A punishment imposed by Conmebol for the reception that the fans dedicated to the team, with flares and pyrotechnics included, in the first leg of semifinals of the last Copa Libertadoresalso in front of Atlético Mineiro.

It was a party prior to the party that was recognized worldwide, but that the agency that governs South American football sanctioned not only with the total closure of the stands during a match, but also with fines For a total of 195 thousand dollars (100,000 for the use of pyrotechnics, 50,000 for racist demonstrations, 20,000 for lighting failures, 10,000 for damage and 15,000 for not giving interviews after the party).

That money was discounted to River from the awards for his participation in the 2014 edition of the Continental Tournament and that of tonight was the last penalty that was missing.

If this point is taken as reference, that of the sanctions, the last time the millionaire team had played without the presence of its fans had been in early 2020, shortly before the quarantine was decreed by Coronavirus.

This framework also caused a punishment for the use of flares, although in that case in the semifinals of the 2019 Libertadores against Boca.