Two football fans have died after attending a major cup clash in the Copa Libertadores last week.
Following the match between Brazilian side Internacional and Colombian team Atletico Nacional, Alejandro Lopera Zulaga and Victor Manuel Velasquez Cartagena, both 27 years old, were allegedly involved in a fight in the Brazilian city of Porto Alegre on April 11.
The altercation that led to the incident is thought to have occurred in the Cidade Baixa quarter of the city after the fixture at Beira-Rio Stadium.
Lopera Zulaga allegedly attacked Velasquez Cartagena with a knife.
According to Lopera Zulaga’s Facebook page, he worked in a logistics and transport role for Atletico Nacional having obtained a degree from Colombia’s Metropolitan Institute of Technology in Medellin.
While his birthplace on his profile is listed as Medellin, his profile also states that he resided in Chile’s capital city, Santiago.
An altercation between fans after the match between Brazilian side Internacional and Colombian team Atletico Nacional is thought to have led to the death of two men
One, Alejandro Lopera Zulaga allegedly attacked Victor Manuel Velasquez Cartagena with a knife when the fight broke out
According to Brazilian media outlet Globo, a group then chased Lopera Zulaga, who purportedly tried to enter a snack bar, but was pulled out and attacked.
Lopera Zulaga died of injuries sustained in the fight in the early hours of Friday morning (April 11).
Having allegedly been stabbed, Velasquez Cartagena was taken to the emergency department at the Hospital de Pronto Socorro in Porto Alegre but died hours later.
His identity was confirmed by police on the afternoon of Sunday April 13.
‘The victim was found lifeless when he was taken to a hospital,’ said the head of the Homicide Police Station of the Rio Grande do Sul, Raissa Araujo.
Araujo added that the people involved in the fight were of Colombian nationality.
The attacker who killed his compatriot was also beaten by the fans and was subsequently taken to Porto Alegre Emergency Hospital, per local media reports.
It was also reported that the bodies of both fans were back to Colombia on Monday April 14.
Lopera Zulaga (right) is believed to have been beaten by fans following the incident in Brazil
The match finished 3-0 to the home side in what was a one-sided contest on the pitch
The match finished 3-0 to the home side in what was a one-sided contest on the pitch.
Investigations by the Civil Police into the incident continue, with authorities currently attempting to identify and locate others involved in the incident.
