On Saturday, March 5 in Santiago de Queretaro, Mexico, a massive brawl broke out during a Liga MX match. 62 minutes into the match between Queretaro and Atlas the crowd began to get very rowdy, soon multiple fights would begin to break out in the stands between Queretaro and Atlas fans. The brawl could not be contained by security and police officers at Corregidora Stadium. Twenty-six people were injured with 10 people in serious condition and three people in critical condition. Of the 26 injured, 24 were men and two were women. 

FIFA (Federation International de Football Association) called the events “unacceptable and intolerable.”

FIFA said in an official statement, “FIFA joins the Mexican Football Association and Concacaf in condemning this barbaric incident and encouraging the local authorities to bring swift justice to those responsible.”  

Players from Atlas and Queretaro were escorted to their locker rooms as the fighting began. The fights then moved from the stands to the field. Multiple videos of the fights have been uploaded to the internet.

Loy Norrix senior Luis Sanchez had an uncle at the Atlas vs Queretaro game. His uncle was unharmed at the match, but Sanchez still believes these events should’ve never happened to begin with.

“I think it was not ok what the spectators did. It was only a friendly match between Queretaro and Atlas. People go to games to watch their team and have fun. People shouldn’t worry about if they’re going to be hurt,” Sanchez said.

President of Liga MX, Mikel Arriola, plans to install facial recognition at stadiums to identify potential criminals and troublemakers for future matches and other events. 

“We have to implement digital security measures to identify those who attend, starting with the barras [bars],” Arriola said.

Games were scheduled for the next day but were postponed in solidarity for the events at Corregidora Stadium.