<
>

Paraguay FA condemns Olimpia violence that left fans in hospital

The Paraguay Football Association (APF) has condemned the violence from some Olimpia fans that led to the suspension of their game against Sol de America and resulted in people being taken to hospital.

Sunday's game was called off after eight minutes when violence erupted between "ultra" fans at the Rio Parapiti stadium.

Olimpia players were seen urging the supporters to stop the fighting, with police saying that at least six Olimpia fans were taken to hospital with gun and knife wounds.

A statement from the APF said: "The Paraguay Football Association strongly condemns the violent incidents done by misfits pretending to be football fans at the Rio Parapiti stadium during the game between Olimpia and Sol de America.

"Since the start of our administration, our organisation has been committed to implement the Estadio Seguro [Safety Stadium] project that follows explicit rules by FIFA.

"With that aim, we have made vast efforts with other institutions to put an end to violence in football stadiums in Paraguay. We give our assurances that those responsible will not step into a football stadium again."

The statement said the AFP would "work with the police and legal authorities to eradicate this illness from our game."

Olimpia president Marco Trovato condemned the violence, writing on Twitter: "We are going to work relentlessly with the public prosecution offices and the police as always, to put an end to this once and for all.

"We apologise to people. It's not the time to talk about points deduction. The only thing that matters now is people's safety."