The National Professional Football Association (ANFP) regretted the suspension of the match between Universidad de Chile and Cobresal, planned for this Sunday at the National Stadium.
The meeting was scheduled by the ANFP and planned in advance by the local club, the U, which—according to the association—worked in coordination with Carabineros, Estadio Seguro and the Metropolitan Regional Delegation to meet the necessary requirements.
“As an Association, we believe that this resolution received today harms football and the fans. Decisions like this harm, first of all, our partner clubs, Universidad de Chile and Cobresal, but also an activity that moves millions of people who follow our championships on television, thousands of families and children who attend the stadium, hundreds of workers , entrepreneurs, suppliers and media that make this sport their own,” declared the ANFP in a statement.
The association maintained that its objective is for families to return to the stadiums, “isolating criminals who dress up as fans to commit acts of violence.”
Along these lines, they affirm, “it is urgent and essential to establish the National Registry of Fans, a registration system that will facilitate access to the stadiums, but also detect, identify and prevent those people who only seek to commit crimes from entering the stadiums. sports venues.”
Finally, the ANFP expressed its total commitment to the University of Chile, Cobresal and all its associated clubs. “We will continue working to guarantee the stability of our tournaments, football and entertainment,” they concluded.
It is worth mentioning that, just a week ago, in the Super Cup, in the same stadium, the match between Colo Colo and Huachipato was interrupted with just over 10 minutes left due to excesses caused by white barristas.
In this way, the U match becomes a new commitment suspended from the National Tournament, after Everton-Palestino and La Calera-Universidad Católica. The latter, however, were postponed due to the fires in the Valparaíso Region.
Safety reasons
The presidential delegate of the Metropolitan Region (s), Jaime Fuentes, made the suspension of the meeting official today. The regional authority said that the decision “is based on reports issued by technical organizations, who consider that the necessary measures are not in place to protect the safety of those attending the event.”
The delegation said that it is important to note that the largest number of police contingents are in the Valparaíso Region deployed after the forest fires and the various security reinforcement programs in the RM.
“We understand that football is important for families. As such, we will carry out all necessary actions to work with Carabineros and Estadio Seguro to ensure the holding of future events at the National Stadium,” the delegate reported.
When will the match be played
Yamal Rajab, Manager of Professional Leagues, explained the situation on radio Agriculture: “It is always complicated to program. An Argentine colleague asked me what the most difficult thing about Chilean football is and I told him that it is scheduling because of the restrictions there are, because the stadiums do not belong to the clubs, because of the teams’ travel, etc. The suspension of the U vs. Cobresal would mean looking for a new date and you have to think that Cobresal has international participation, so the calendar gets very messy.”