Story By: Alex Cope, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Golder’s News And Sport
Video Credit: Golders/@tutigrilloperu
This is the moment a gang of armed men storm onto the training pitch as a top-flight Peruvian side train and threaten them not to turn up to their next match.
The shocking scenes were recorded by one of the gang members who are reportedly fans of Sport Boys. The thugs invaded the training pitch of Sport Huancayo at the Estadio de Huancayo stadium in the Peruvian city of Huancayo prior to Sport Boys 1-0 victory.
If Sport Boys had lost the match they would have been prevented from advancing to the playoffs for the Peruvian Liga 1 title.
In the video, a group of men can be seen running onto the pitch and interrupting the training session. One of the thugs can be seen holding a pistol as another gang member tells a Huancayo player “don’t turn up, don’t turn up against Boys”.
The gang then run away from the pitch and can be heard shouting as they flee from the stadium. Local media report Huancayo player Manuel Corrales managed to speak to the invaders and reason with them.
The match went ahead on Sunday and Sport Boys won 1-0, saving themselves from being knocked out of the competition and preventing Union Comercio from reaching the playoffs.
Union Comercio have now filed a complaint against Sport Boys claiming that a day before the match against Huancayo a “masculine voice” called the referee Manuel Santibanez de la Cruz saying “if Boys don’t win tomorrow you and your family are going to die, we know where you live and we aren’t f*cking around.”
They claimed the threat was repeated “several times” and the complaint also mentioned the invasion of the training pitch.
Boys fan group ‘Juventud Rosada’ have been accused of carrying out the invasion but denied having taken part and the club added that they “reject all acts of violence in football and society” in a statement.
It is unclear if the Peruvian Primera Division are investigating the case or if the police have launched an investigation.
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