Scaloni condemns ‘very ugly’ scenes as crowd trouble mars Argentina win against Brazil

Lionel Scaloni condemned crowd trouble that marred Argentina’s 1-0 World Cup qualifier win over Brazil at the Maracana Stadium.

Kick-off was delayed by half an hour after a brawl between rival fans broke out, which saw Brazilian police charge the travelling contingent with batons drawn.

“It was very ugly for that to happen, whether you’re Argentinian or Brazilian, it’s very ugly, very ugly, and some [players] had family members near there,” coach Scaloni said.

“Playing a match in those conditions is difficult.”

Nicolas Otamendi scored the only goal of the match in the 63rd minute, while Brazil’s Joelinton was sent off in the final 10 minutes.