“They were going to attack us all”: the minutes of hell suffered by an Atlas fan at the Corregidora Stadium

On March 5, 2022 fans of Gallos Blancos and Atlas gathered at the Estadio de la Corregidora to witness another chapter of the recent sports rivalry between clubs. Despite the tension between bars, most of the attendees did not imagine the tragedy that would come at the 62nd minute of the match, when an albiazul sector attacked the small visiting fans amid various security inconsistencies, as Abril Fuentes, a red and black fan, told Infobae Mexico.

It was not the first time that Fuentes left Jalisco to support the Atlas, although it was his first presence in the world cup stadium. As he did in Aguascalientes, Puebla and Mazatlan, he called for a trip to encourage the Liga MX champion. Her task, together with her boyfriend, consisted of organizing a group of people and friends, alien to animation groups, with the aim of encouraging her team in the capital of Quereta.

Unlike her, her partner had already been to the Corregidora and knew that the court was classified as high risk. Despite this, along with a dozen other people, left the capital of Jalisco on the night of Friday, March 4. However, on the way to Querétaro, they noticed the absence of security checkpoints that, he said, are frequent in other states they have visited.

At dawn, and after breakfast, Abril and her partner contacted other organizers, who told them that they had to report to the parking lot of the sports venue before 1:00 p.m. They did so and in the place they met the rest of the fans, both from the bars and families, who would enter to watch those led by Diego Cocca play.

At 16:15, the red and black fans abandoned their instruments, rags and flags on their means of transport in order to enter the stadium. However, during the access, she noticed discrepancies in the protocols implemented by the private security company in charge of the event.

“We were trained by women on one side and men on the other, but this time, compared to the stadiums where we entered at the same time, women entered first. Something that seemed strange to us, when we started to form the line, was that they made us break and redo the lines three times. They weren't sure how we were going to get in,” he said.

Another inconsistency was the lack of clarity that the guards had about the objects prohibited in access. While it is known that bulky belts and bundles cannot be carried, some people were prevented from wearing caps, visors or sunglasses. Fuentes even wanted to ban access by wearing his glasses. “From there you could tell that there was no communication between them,” he said.

Upon entering the area allocated for the visit, tension began to be felt in shouts and chants, although the gesture was normalized by the rivalry between clubs. As he indicated, the area of stands higher than where they were placed was not enabled to house people, so it was empty. The atmosphere seemed normal, until a goal by Julio Furch in the 29th minute silenced the local breath and gave way to threats that worsened just before the 62nd minute.

In the section next to their location, a brawl began between a couple of fans, apparently, from Gallos, although “what we found strange was that in order to calm them down (the security elements) they opened the mesh that separates the bars to get out and stop the lawsuit between the two of them,” he said. At that time, as he said, the crowd grew angry and some fans of the local team began to attack red-black fans outside the area of the visit.

Confident that the security elements would control the brawl, Atlas fans concentrated in the middle of their section, “but when we noticed that security was opening the bars it was when we started running, I was worried about the other people who came with us, so instead of getting down on the court we we went to the parking lot,” he clarified.

To leave the area, it was necessary for her and her companions to jump over the fence that divides the seats with the back aisle. At that moment, the bars on both sides were opened and the sector was filled with albiazules aggressors. Abril Fuentes and some of his companions managed to get safe outside the compound, although almost immediately the police authorities closed the access gate.

The next few hours were the longest of the day. Telephone communication with those who were trapped was null and the authorities restricted access to the fans. At times, the guards opened the bars to allow injured people to leave and took the opportunity to give the first reports to those who hoped to reunite with their companions, although they were not encouraging. “

At approximately 22:30, Abril and the group in charge managed to leave the Corregidora Stadium. Only one of his friends did not return with them, because he was helped by a Queretan family to get safe. The security forces escorted them to the municipality of Salamanca, Guanajuato, and continued on their way to Guadalajara without knowing about the supporters' meeting at the Jalisco Stadium.

The security inconsistencies experienced by Abril and the rest of the fans were corroborated in the hours and days after. Social networks showed that the security company in charge of the party called people without training hours before the match. Later, ESPN reported that the corporation with corporate name G.S.E.K 9 had expired permits to operate since February.

“We knew there were going to be lawsuits, but we shouldn't normalize it. Violence is wrong. You don't go to a stadium that much less with the kind of trips we take from a family atmosphere. Imagine going with someone you don't know who assured you that you were going to come back okay. . Fortunately they returned, but what if not? We ask the authorities to do something, that justice be done,” he concluded.

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