Buenos Aires is slowly recovering from the madness that ensued after 4 million raucous fans filled the city’s streets on Tuesday to cheer for Lionel Messi and the rest of Argentina’s world-champion team.
At least 14 revelers were arrested and 64 people injured, including 21 police officers and firefighters, after fighting between national football team supporters and police after sunset.
Clashes slowly erupted around 8.30pm after most fans left the area around the Obelisk, where thousands had gathered early in the morning to welcome Lionel Messi and his company.
Authorities attempted to evacuate several unruly fans who had climbed to the top of the 221-foot memorial to sit on the window sills and pose for selfies.
Lionel Messi (third from left) at the team’s parade on a bus in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on Tuesday after winning the 2022 World Cup
Argentina national soccer team member Alejandro Gomez (centre) greets fans during Tuesday’s parade in Buenos Aires, attended by 4 million people
Riot police fired a shotgun to disperse the remaining football fans at the Obelisk, a memorial in Buenos Aires, where they waited for hours for a homecoming parade for the players who won the World Cup
Demonstrators hurled objects during a clash with members of the Buenos Aires police and fire department after a parade was held to honor Argentina’s national soccer team’s World Cup title. At least 14 people were arrested and 61 injured, including 21 police officers and firefighters
Police officers in riot gear guard the Obelisk, a memorial in Buenos Aires where football fans had gathered to receive Lionel Messi and the rest of the Argentina national team members before some of the fans clashed with police officers and firefighters
Supporters outside the memorial — a gathering place where many Argentine sporting achievements have been celebrated in the past — began attacking police officers and firefighters with objects, including bottles.
Buenos Aires Security and Justice Minister Marcelo D’Alessandro told Radio Continental that on Wednesday morning police were still trying to remove fans who had managed to enter the obelisk, whose front doors were forced open with a hammer. The walls of the memorial were covered in graffiti.
Local residents and business owners woke up to find that many of the panels covering bus stops had been vandalized by fans climbing into the stands, while street lamps and traffic lights were malfunctioning.
Police officers clashed with angry fans of the Argentina national soccer team at the end of Tuesday’s parade
Authorities arrested a man Tuesday after a clash between police and fans near the obelisk in Buenos Aires
A sea of soccer fans surround the bus transporting Argentina’s World Cup team during Tuesday’s parade in Buenos Aires
According to Argentina news agency TN, street vendors accused the Buenos Aires city government of not doing enough to protect their kiosks.
A business owner recalled being helpless when 200 people climbed onto the roof of her kiosk and destroyed it. She said it would cost up to $8,600 to cover the repairs.
A block from their booth, vandals smashed through the glass front doors of a car dealership, also tore down the gate of a kiosk and stole most of the merchandise.
Shocking video footage showed a dozen men running away with an ATM and loading it into a van after breaking into a local bank branch.
Authorities had not made any arrests related to the incident as of Wednesday afternoon.
Soccer fans wave flags from the Obelisk Monument while waiting to see the Argentina soccer team that won the World Cup
Argentine soccer fans gathered on the highways Tuesday during a homecoming parade for the players who won the World Cup
Coach Lionel Scaloni (left) waves during a homecoming parade for the Argentina soccer team that won the World Cup tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Tuesday
The parade was abruptly halted as police were simply overwhelmed by the number of fans who flocked to the thoroughfares, highways and overpasses to catch a glimpse of the national team, who won Argentina’s third world title and first since 1986.
Players were approaching an overpass when one fan jumped and jumped onto the bus while another slammed into the back of the bus and fell into the crowd.
The players later exited the open-air bus that transported them to Buenos Aires and boarded helicopters for a flyover of the capital, dubbed an air parade by the government.
Some fans went home with long faces, complaining that they couldn’t pay tribute to the team that brought home the country’s first World Cup trophy since 1986.
“We’re angry because the government didn’t organize this properly so that we could all celebrate,” said Diego Benavidez, 25, who had been waiting to see the team since early morning. “They stole the World Cup from us.”