Peñarol demands the presence of his fans in the duel against Botafogo

The fight between Peñarol, the Uruguayan government, CONMEBOL and Botafogo gained another chapter this Monday (28), with a statement from the president of the Carbonero club, Ignacio Ruglio, stating that he will fight for his club's fans to have the right to watch to the second leg of the Libertadores semi-final, against the Brazilian team.

On Monday night, the South American Football Confederation (Conmebol), issued a letter addressed to the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF), chaired by Ignacio Ruglio, who is also president of the Carbonero club, demanding a position to guarantee the presence of Botafogo fans at the stadium for the match this Wednesday (30), until 10 am this Tuesday (29). If the order is not followed, the game may be played without fans or the venue may be changed.

What Ignacio Ruglio said

In a press release on Monday night (28), the president of Peñarol and AUF states that “It is not a decision by Peñarol, it is a decision by the Ministry of the Interior of Uruguay based on the climate of war that created Botafogo in Rio de Janeiro with its fans ambushing the meeting point that was a 'liberated zone' and hurting families with children and women in the vicinity of his stadium before and after the game”.

Continuing the statement, the president of the Uruguayan club said that he will defend the right to play in front of his fans in the second leg of the Libertadores semifinal against Botafogo this Wednesday (30) at his stadium, Campeón del Siglo.

Meeting between Peñarol directors

Shortly after the release of the CONMEBOL letter last night, Ignacio Ruglio stated that the entire board of directors of Peñarol will meet at 8:45 am, local time, to discuss the rights of the club and its fans, reaffirming that it was not the fans of his club that caused the fights and hostile environment last week in Rio de Janeiro.

Peñarol's arguments

In its defense, Peñarol states that the decision to ban the presence of Botafogo fans at the Campeón del Siglo was made by the National Police and the government of Uruguay, by the Ministry of the Interior, which called the clash this Wednesday (30) as “high risk”.

_{President of Peñarol, Ignácio Ruglio (Photo: reproduction/Peñarol/X/@Sport890)}

Botafogo's position

Botafogo made an official statement this Monday (28), and with the CBF, they filed a lawsuit with CONMEBOL asking for their fans to be allowed to watch the match.

The statement from the Brazilian club states that Botafogo disagrees with the decision of the Uruguayan authorities to prohibit the presence of the club's fans in the stadium and that it believes that the country and the police have all the capacity to guarantee the safety of visiting fans who will in the past go to the Campeón del Siglo stadium.

At the end of the note, Botafogo says that it contacted Itamaraty, the Brazilian Ministry of Sports and the Brazilian federal police and Interpol to preserve the safety of its fans in the Uruguayan capital.

Featured Photo: Peñarol defends his fans' right to watch the game against Botafogo (Reproduction/ Daniel RAMALHO/AFP/Getty Images Embed)