River Plate went back to training after their 3-1 victory in Mendoza with a full squad. Aguirre, Maidana and Alayes used the week to recover from their minor injuries and all three are expected to start Saturday against Desamparados.
The club started the week saying it had not received official notice of any penalties regarding the incidents during the game against Belgrano, even though it was all over the media that the team would have to play 5 games away from home with 2 behind closed doors. On Thursday the club acknowledged the sanction and launched an appeal that was rejected. Therefore, River Plate will host Desamparados at Huracan behind closed doors.
The River Plate phenomenon can’t be stopped. This week AFA, the government and police decided to allow away fans to attend matches in the lower divisions for the first time in 4 years after River’s successful “invasion” of Mendoza. Later it was clarified that this reversal would only allow fans back to B Nacional matches while authorities studied extending the ruling to the lower divisions. The original ban was imposed to try and prevent the increasing violence seen throughout the lower divisions.
On Wednesday there was another heated meeting with the club directors. This time it was an assembly of representatives who had to ratify the decisions voted on by the board weeks ago. Chaos and insults were the order of the day as fights broke out and several people had to be removed from the hall. In the end, the official block voted to ratify the new 11/12 budget which includes a 25% increase in the membership fee. This in spite of posting a positive balance in what Daniel Passarella calls an “economic goleada”. The opposition block is calling for concessions on this matter saying the members have already suffered so much with the relegation of the club that they shouldn’t also be penalized by paying higher membership fees.
Thursday night saw yet another sad episode at the club as one of the representatives from the official block attacked and stabbed another member of the club. The two had traded insults the night before during the assembly of representatives. The member was treated on the spot by club’s medical staff and released. Though the injury was minor, the incident is of grave consideration especially as the club has just been banned from playing at home. Unfortunately, River Plate is not a stranger at this point to police investigations within the club, and this latest episode will certainly bring more scrutiny on Daniel Passarella and his political allies.
Finally, with the decision to play at Huracan written in stone, fans have begun to organize a match viewing on the street outside the stadium so the players can at least hear their supporters. The effort is being led by Movimiento Soy de River, and has gained support from other fan groups who plan to install a giant projection screen to watch the game on the corner of Amancio Alcorta and Colonia.
