- Angel Di Maria was filmed spitting at fans after beer sloshed over him
- The Argentina midfielder retreated into the tunnel as the violence flared up
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New footage has emerged of Angel Di Maria spitting at Brazilian fans after they doused him with beer at the Maracana Tunnel.
Di Maria retreated to the dressing rooms with his Argentina teammates due to crowd trouble during their World Cup qualifier against Brazil when he was doused with alcohol.
The Argentine players were walking through a crowd of barking Brazilian fans when the beer hit him, causing him to retaliate with a saliva shot of his own.
The anthems were marred as fans started fighting and police officers beat supporters with batons, prompting Lionel Messi to lead his compatriots to the shelter of the dressing room.
Kick-off was delayed by around half an hour and Emiliano Martinez launched himself at a police officer to disarm him as the rivalry descended into anarchy.
Angel Di Maria spat at a fan after beer was thrown in his face as he walked through the tunnel
During the national anthem, violence broke out between supporters of Brazil and Argentina
Police then intervened by attacking the supporters and then beating them with batons
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The video shows a streak of beer sloshing on Di Maria’s forehead before he jumps up to the fan, who is out of shot, and spits in their direction.
It was unclear what caused the unrest, but supporters were seen attacking each other and even ripping and launching the seats from the stands.
In an attempt to resolve the situation, police attacked away fans before shockingly wielding batons and beating people, leaving some bloodied.
Messi guided his teammates to safety amid flaring tempers, but things hardly cooled down.
After he emerged, he and Rodrigo De Paul had a heated argument with Brazilian striker Rodrygo, who accused them of being ‘cowards’.
‘We are the world champions, why are we cowards? Look at your mouth,” Messi shot back.
There were 22 fouls in the first half alone in a messy match.
At least one fan left the Maracana with blood on his head after the violent start to the match
Emiliano Martinez assaulted a police officer who wielded a baton at Argentinian fans
Lionel Messi led his Argentina teammates to the changing rooms when kick-off was delayed
Nicolas Otamendi scored the only goal of the match in the second half to put Argentina on course to inflict a first-ever World Cup qualifying defeat on their foes.
But the drama wasn’t even over yet.
Brazilian substitute Joelinton was sent off not long after coming on after shoving De Paul in the chest, with the Argentine midfielder dramatically collapsing and holding his face.
Although Joelinton didn’t appear to make contact with De Paul’s face, he still gave his marching orders in the 81st minute.
After the final whistle, Messi commented on the stinking atmosphere and behavior of the Brazilian police.
He said: ‘We have seen how [police] touched the people, it already happened in the Libertadores final,” he said, referring to the scenes in the Maracana before Fluminense’s victory over Boca Juniors this year.
Rodrygo accused Messi and Rodrigo De Paul of being ‘cowards’ for retreating into the tunnel
Nicolas Otamendi scored the only goal of the match as Argentina silenced the Maracana
Joelinton was shown a red card for shoving Rodrigo De Paul in the face during a highly charged match
‘They were more focused on that than on the game. We went to the locker room because this was the best way to calm everything down, a tragedy could have happened.
‘We are a family. We decided to play to calm the situation down.”
Messi also wrote on Instagram after the match: ‘This team continues to write history.
‘Great victory in the Maracana, although it will also be marked by the repression of the Argentinians in Brazil. This cannot be tolerated, it is insane and it must end now!!”