Argentinian football has developed a reputation for fan violence in recent years and the recent madness that occurred in a recent Copa Libertadores clash between eternal rivals Boca Junior and River Plate hardly did anything to improve perceptions.
A number of River Plate players were pepper-sprayed by Boca fans as they emerged for the second half, leading the game to be abandoned and ultimately the ejection of Boca Juniors from the competition.
"What a depressingly sad story to sully one of the great showpiece occasions of South American football," BBC South American football expert Tim Vickery told Off The Ball tonight as we looked into a couple of controversial stories in Argentina and Brazil.
"There's more to this story than meets the eye. This isn't just delinquents from a group of 11 fans who it seems threw this home-made concoction - including acid and pepper spray - at River Plate players as they made their way out onto the field for the second half. What this reveals is the depths to which Argentine football has sunk as a consequence of the organised groups of fans turning into monsters. Over time they have become a rent-a-mob with huge connections in the club and the top echelons of these rent-a-mob make a living from their activities, with huge contacts with the police and political parties."
Tim also suggested that there is no political will to find a solution in Argentina as the problems get worse.
Meanwhile at the weekend, Brazilian newspaper O Estado made the explosive claim that their country's football federation (CBF) had made a multi-million agreement with a Cayman Island-based marketing firm which allows it to influence the call-ups of players to the senior squad on top of the organisation of friendlies.
Tim clarified what is going on: "Probably the most controversial aspect of this is the existence of the contract itself and Brazil are far from the only national team to have a contract of this kind, who have a foreign company organising its friendlies. But quite why there is a need for this inter-mediation and a need for these foreign companies to effectively profit from an arrangement with the Brazilian national team, that's not really exactly clear."
Highlighting the example of Mirandinha who joined Newcastle in 1987 on the back of a friendly appearance, Tim suggested that Brazil's tradition of often picking second string teams for friendlies may have enticed commercial partners to push for a more recognisable lineup.
"To say then say that this means commercial partners are now picking the team is a bit of a stretch, frankly. Now the commercial partners are picking the opposition which is controversial enough in itself but the idea that they are picking the team, what it really means is they are ensuring that Brazil are as close as possible to full strength," said Tim.
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