- Sergio Romero was restrained by club officials after arguing with a Boca fan
- The 37-year-old goalkeeper later apologized and said he had “lost his mind”
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Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero had to be restrained by club officials after he lost his temper with a Boca Juniors supporter following the 1-0 defeat to arch-rivals River Plate.
Former West Ham United star Manuel Lanzini scored the winning goal in the 20th minute in a match that ended with nine yellow cards for both teams.
Boca’s Cristian Lema was also sent off in the 12th minute of injury time in the second half.
The two teams are known for their fierce rivalry on the pitch and the passion is clearly visible among the supporters.
But for one Boca fan, the frustration over the loss to River became too much and he took it out on Romero.
A Boca fan places his left hand on goalkeeper Romero’s chest after the loss to River Plate
Romero was forcibly restrained by several club officials as the fan was dragged away
Boca’s reserve goalkeeper Leandro Brey pulled his captain away from the angry fan
But Romero seemed all the more willing to verbally assault him.
The fan placed his left hand on Romero’s chest as the 37-year-old leaned over the fence and got in his face.
Someone violently pulls the fan from behind Romero, who is held back by three officials.
Boca’s reserve goalkeeper Leandro Brey then tries to pull Romero away, but the experienced goalkeeper pulls his substitute’s arms away and glares at him.
The camera then moves behind Romero and he comes face to face with a group of angry Boca fans desperate to climb over each other and take out their anger on the goalkeeper.
Brey eventually manages to pull Romero away as fans continue to insult the team.
Some fans seem to turn on each other and some pushing and shoving ensues, with a few people even having to act as security and hold back the more vengeful supporters.
In a post-match interview with TNT Sports, Romero held his hands up and apologized.
Romero is then further insulted by several angry Boca supporters
The fans quickly turned on each other and began pushing and shoving each other
“When the fan insulted me, I couldn’t think anymore and I went crazy,” Romero said.
‘He cursed me so hard that he just found me. I left and I lost my mind and I went back to find him.
“I apologize to the fan who offended me, as it is his right.”
It was Boca’s fourth defeat of the season and they are now 11th in the Argentine Primera Division. River Plate’s win moves them up to fifth on 24 points, six behind leaders Velez Sarsfield.
