4 People Die After Rival Fans Fight Before Soccer Match in Honduras

Rob Goldberg @TheRobGoldbergFeatured ColumnistAugust 19, 2019

Soccer fans gather on the field in an attempt to escape tear gas that was fired by police who were trying to break up a deadly fight between fans before the start of a game between Motagua and Olimpia, at the national stadium in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, late Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019. The fight between fans of rival soccer teams outside the stadium left three people dead and led to the suspension of the game. (Victor Colindres/La Tribunal via AP)

Victor Colindres/Associated Press

Four people have died and more are injured after a fight between supporters of rival Honduran soccer teams, according to Marlon Gonzalez and Freddy Cuevas of the Associated Press.

Motagua and Olimpia were set to compete Saturday at National Stadium, but the match was suspended after fans threw objects at the bus carrying Motagua players to the arena. Three players were injured in the incident.

"We were leaving the hotel when about 250 people attacked the bus with bottles in the street," bus driver Marcos Castellanos said.

"Bottles, stones were thrown at us and the players threw themselves on the floor screaming," Motagua coach Diego Vasquez added, per Elvin Manuel Sandoval and Daniel Silva Fernandez of CNN.

After the match was suspended, the fans on both sides began to fight in and around the stadium. Three people were killed on Saturday while a fourth was beaten to death, dying of injuries on Sunday.

The stadium has since been closed indefinitely and no makeup date has been announced for the game.

Fights between fans of the two teams have led to tragedy in the past, with two people being killed in 2009 and one in 2016.