Chilean football, at least on the local level, is plagued with problems of corruption and hooliganism. Fan violence once again reared its ugly head, as a massive fight on the pitch between the fans of Colo Colo and Santiago Wanderers caused the match to be suspended and eventually cancelled.

Groups of hooligans “supporting” both teams rushed to the field in order to confront each other with anything they could get their hands on. From flares and smoke grenades to sticks, wooden planks, rocks and even the corner flag. Anything can be used when fans get together to beat the s@#$ out of each other.

Players and those not looking to get in on the action went into hiding for 15 minutes before the police was finally able to stop the chaos and arrest a few people, leading into the dying down of the events. The match wasn’t resumed in any case, and who knows what the Chilean FA will decide.

Remember: Hooligans who break through to the pitch in order to fight might call themselves fans, but they have nothing to do with supporting a team or the sport of football. They don’t belong anywhere near a football pitch. And things are spilling to outside the stadium too.