Paraguay derby abandoned after firecracker thrown at line

Posted Monday, December 05, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

A Paraguayan derby match was abandoned at halftime on Sunday evening after a linesman was injured by a firecracker thrown from the crowd, the latest bout of soccer violence to hit the country.

The match official, Dario Gaona, needed hospital treatment after the incident in the Cerro Porteno-Libertad game at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion.

Hospital officials told the ABC Color newspaper that the official had suffered an acoustic trauma, but there was no long-term damage and he was discharged after treatment.

The Paraguayan FA held an emergency meeting and ruled that the second half of the match would be played on Tuesday. Cerro Porteno supporters were also banned from the club’s remaining three matches of the season.

The Clausura championship has been plagued by violence, which included two successive abandoned matches at the Feliciano Caceres stadium on the outskirts of the capital.

Sportivo Luqueno’s game against Rubiu Nu was suspended by rioting home fans in the 58th minute in late October and their following match, against Independiente Campo Grande, was called off in the 86th minute.

Cerro Porteno, leading 1-0 at the time, protested the decision in Sunday’s match.

“The responsibility belongs to the police who did not control the supporters efficiently,” club president Juan Jose Zapag told reporters.

“We repudiate violence in the stadiums and this season we have not given any free tickets to the Cerro fans,” he added, referring to a practice common in South America and often blamed for encouraging violence.