Corinthians fans barred after Libertadores flare death

ASUNCION: Holders Corinthians will play their home matches in the Libertadores Cup behind closed doors after fans were accused of killing a young Bolivian supporter with a flare, South American soccer body Conmebol said on Friday.
A Bolivian prosecutor charged two Corinthians fans with homicide and 10 others of trying to cover up for them after the 14-year-old was killed during San Jose’s 1-1 home draw against the Brazilian side in Oruro on Wednesday.
“Corinthians have been sanctioned so that all their home matches are (played) behind closed doors in the Libertadores,” Nestor Benitez, spokesman for Conmebol, the South American Football Confederation, told Reuters.
“In addition, clubs playing at home against Corinthians have been prohibited from selling tickets for Corinthians’ fans. That is to say, their fans won’t be able to see the matches at all,” Benitez said.
The decision covers the whole tournament, scheduled to end in July, until Conmebol’s disciplinary committee issues a definitive ruling on the case, Benitez added.
Corinthians have three days to present their defense before the committee, which has no deadline for a ruling.
Oruro prosecutor Abigail Saba told reporters she had made charges after interrogating 12 Corinthians fans arrested at the match for launching the flare that killed the boy and was meant to celebrate their team’s early goal.
Saba said she was investigating “a crime with the death of a minor,” Bolivian newspaper La Razon reported on its website (www.la-razon.com).
The Conmebol’s decision is a major blow to Corinthians, the Sao Paulo club that won the Libertadores Cup for the first time last July before beating Chelsea to win the Club World Cup in December.
The ban means their famously passionate fans will be excluded from next Wednesday’s visit to Sao Paulo by Colombia’s Millonarios and later home matches in Group Five against Tijuana of Mexico and San Jose.
Corinthians had already boasted of selling 83,500 tickets for the three games in the South America’s equivalent of the European Champions League.