MADRID – The Copa Libertadores final second leg between
Argentinian giants River Plate and Boca Juniors will take place in
Madrid on Sunday after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
rejected a late request by Boca.
With the tie at 2-2 from the first leg, last month's second leg at
River's Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires was postponed after River
fans pelted the Boca team bus with stones, injuring some players.
The game was eventually rescheduled for Madrid to avoid further fan
violence but River objected at losing their home advantage. South
American federation CONMEBOL rejected their complaints.
Boca meanwhile wanted River to be thrown of the competition, South
America's equivalent of the Champions League, and made a late
application to CAS after CONMEBOL had said no.
CAS said in a statement it had "dismissed an urgent
request for provisional measures" filed by Boca with regards to the
match at Real Madrid's Bernabeu stadium being postponed, but left the
door open for River to be disqualified following the second leg.
"The merits of the appeal will be examined at a later stage by a CAS
arbitral panel. The arbitration procedure is on-going
with the exchange of written submissions," CAS added.
The winner of the Copa Libertadores will represent South America in
the coming Club World Cup which begins December 12 in the United Arab
Emirates. River or Boca, however, would enter the competition with a
semi-final on December 18.