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Chile vs Argentina

Wolfgang Stark (born November 20, 1969 in Landshut), is a German football referee, who officiates in the FIFA league. He has refereed matches in Champions League and qualifications to the European Football Championship and the World Cup.

He was questioned for his performance overseeing the ChileArgentina match in the FIFA 2007 U-20 World Championship, having "lost control of the match early" [ and for issuing 7 Yellow cards against the Chilean team during the match . In total he issued 53 fouls, 30 of which he charged to Chile . Stark also showed seven of nine yellow cards to Chilean players.

In a tense scene, following the match Stark and his colleagues were surrounded by livid Chilean players who were restrained by members of the Toronto Police. Stark then had to be escorted off of the pitch and into the dressing room tunnel by police officers for fear that he would be attacked by the crowd and/or Chilean players at the National Soccer Stadium. Stark's performance is connected to a further ugly incident, in which Chilean players, still angry after losing the match, fought with and were pepper-sprayed by police officers outside of the stadium. The players were temporarily held inside the stadium by the police for several hours and were released without being arrested.

Chilean striker Nicolas Medina has hinted that he feels that the referee was favoring the Argentine team, stating that "Eleven against eleven, the game would have been much more fair." Added to this is the perception that the Argentine players were able to employ "diving" tactics and "theatrics" to influence the referee's calls.

Chile to launch formal complaint over FIFA brawl

CTV.ca News Staff

Chile will make formal complaint to the Canadian government over a brawl between Toronto police and the Chilean soccer team after a FIFA U-20 World Cup match Thursday night.

Chile's Foreign Affairs Minister Alejandro Foxley told media in Santiago he will send formal complaint to his Canadian counterpart, Peter MacKay.

And the consul general of Chile said Toronto police need to do more than just apologize for Thursday night's brawl with members of the Chilean FIFA U-20 soccer team.

"I don't think a mere apology would be enough, I don't think so," said Plaza. "Clearly something much more serious needs to be done. This is a serious problem and it needs a serious solution.

Taught

Speaking with CTV News, Ricardo Plaza said police were rude to him when he showed up at the stadium after learning of the scuffle that took place outside the National Soccer Stadium.

He accused the police of using excessive force with the players, all of whom are under the age of 20. Instead of protecting the players, they attacked them, he said.

"They used extreme, excessive force, not used in appropriate way," he said. "I can't understand how they could react in such a way. It's not understandable and it's unacceptable."

Tensions between the two teams competing in the FIFA U-20 World Cup semi-final reached a boiling point after Chile lost to Argentina 3-0.

The entire Chilean under-20 soccer team was detained by police after the fight, which started as teammates boarded their bus and argued with a fan from the rival team.

Police reaction

Toronto Police Chief William Blair released a statement Friday outlining what happened.

"My officers were forced to intervene, initially, to protect the referees. As the teams were leaving the stadium, an argument broke out between a member of the Chilean team and a rival fan," he said. "My officers were forced to intervene, again, to end the dispute. Members of the Chilean team then decided to direct some of their aggressive behaviour towards my officers."

Blair said the officers did what they had to do to control the situation.

"The job of my officers was to respond in a firm, but fair, manner to end that violence. They are trained to do so, and that is what they did," he said.

"We will look, in detail, into what happened last night to see what changes, if any, we need to make to the policing arrangements for Sunday's matches."

The fight got so out of hand, one man was shot with a Taser gun and furious players were throwing objects at police from the windows of their tour bus.

Toronto Mayor David Miller called the incident "regretful" considering the tremendous success of the games so far. However, he wouldn't comment on the behaviour of the police force.

"Until the police investigation is complete, I can't comment on any action police took," he said.

"I do know the inspector in charge showed tremendous good sense to return all players to the custody of their coach.

Miller said he also met with FIFA President Sepp Blatter and they expressed their joint regret of the situation.

Plaza was set to meet the mayor Friday afternoon.

'It looked like a dogfight'

A reporter with The Canadian Press said he heard people yelling near the Chilean team bus after the game. A scuffle then broke out between four or five people, and quickly escalated.

"Next thing you know, the bus just unloads and there's eight, 10 players come off the bus and there's just fists flying everywhere, between the cops, the security guards, a couple of ladies were involved that were security," said reporter Nathan Denette.

"It looked like a big dogfight. People throwing fists and cops with their billyclubs out and then all of a sudden it got out of control."

A police officer then used a Taser to subdue one of the people in the melee, though it was unclear if he was a player or an official with the Chilean team.

"As soon as that happened, it got even worse," Denette said.

Hundreds of angry and chanting fans were kept at a distance, separated by a fence. FIFA and Canadian officials looked on in shock.

Police soon got a handle on the situation, handcuffing team members, many of them bloodied and screaming, and escorting them back into the dressing room where they remained detained for several hours. Eventually, police let them all go without making a single arrest.

"All (Chilean) players have been released from custody of the police to care of the Chilean delegation,'' FIFA spokesman John Schumacher said. "The Chilean players were detained by the police to de-escalate the situation that was taking place in front of the stadium."

"The entire situation is under investigation by FIFA, the LOC (local organizing committee), the police authorities in Toronto as well as the Chilean delegation,'" he continued.

Further details are expected at a news conference scheduled for Friday.

Why it all started

Tempers began to flare for the Chilean team when it became clear the officiating wasn't going their way.

German referee Wolfgang Stark called 53 fouls -- 30 against Chile . Two of their members were eventually ejected during the game.

During the game, nine yellow cards were issued to the team while two yellow cards were issued to the opposing Argentina team. A yellow card is considered a serious warning -- two of them in a single game and the player is shown a red card, which means ejection.

When the final whistle blew and Chile had been shut out 3-0, the team started to go after the referees, egged on by an angry public audience. However, police ushered the refs away to the tunnels underneath the stands.

"The players were upset. They're young players,'' Chile coach Jose Sulantay said at a post-match press conference through an interpreter, referring to the melee on the playing field after the final whistle. "The red card affected them."

"The coaching staff tried to calm them down, but they were upset with the ref and the red cards.''

While Sulantay explained away his players' frustration to reporters, the brawl was breaking out outside the stadium.

Chile is expected to play Austria Sunday for a third-place finish before the finals between Argentina and Czech Republic .

Plaza said he hopes the team will recover from Thursday night's incident in time for the game.

With files from The Canadian Press

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Please Add Comments(56)

John Scott wrote on July 20, 2007 at 8:38:10 AM
More the result of a whistle happy referee driving the players to distraction with his egregious and one sided calls. Let's hope we see a good Chile side Sunday.

Eveyn Moreno wrote on July 20, 2007 at 8:42:13 AM
The refereeing was a disgrace...Mr. Wolfgang Stark should be penalized for showing a a poor judgement on his part. Obviously, he didn't do his homework; soccer funs everywhere, know to well that Argetenians are know for their theatrical display on the field. I am a soccer fun, I enjoy a good match, however, Mr. Wolfgang couldn't control the game and he should be made responsible for such an insident. It is unfortunate that Canadians are trying to intruduce the beautiful game of soccer and this situation certainly doesn't help.

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Scott wrote on July 20, 2007 at 9:14:56 AM
Pathetic and typical. These players should be charged like anyone else would be. Starting a riot of sorts, attacking police officers, disorderly conduct . . etc etc. There will likely be little in the way of reprecussions. Another example of how the sporting world, in general, and the people who make it up get away with behaviour that would otherwise be unacceptable.

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GKesseler wrote on July 20, 2007 at 9:46:55 AM
This ref should be stripped of his credentials, he never gave the young men a chance to play in this the greatest game of their lives. He was the cause of it all, and was a disgrace to referees.

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George Sanidas wrote on July 20, 2007 at 10:12:28 AM
When is FIFA going the realize that the replay must be used to make judgment in high profile games? The referee last night did a poor job. This is no an excuse for violence, however, bad refereeing should not be aloud to strip players from the biggest game of their lives. The FIFA dinosaurs need to wake up!!

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David wrote on July 20, 2007 at 10:14:20 AM
Hi, I'm David from Chile . Chilean TV reporters broadcast live this thing. The "problem" was that Chilean team member were trying to reach the Chilean fans (20 meters away) to say hi and take some pictures, but police over-reacted. They (police) damaged players and even directive managers of the Team, and electro-shocked at least 2 players. The players broke the bus windows cause they need air (police used Toxic things Inside the closed bus). Cops didn't allowed Chilean reporters to do their job cause they know the problem was serious. Chilean Government will make formal complaints.

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Jackie wrote on July 20, 2007 at 10:45:26 AM
Mr Stark should never be allowed to ref again. As for the Toronto Police, you should be ashamed of yourself!!! The players were just trying to say hello to their FANS!!! Is that a crime?

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Etelle B. wrote on July 20, 2007 at 10:46:10 AM
I was reading the South American press, and the reports are a bit different, accusing the Toronto police of mistreating and beating the players with an unnecessary show of force. This issue really needs some investigation. I am not from either Chile or Agentina, but I agree with the fact that the referee did not allow those young and talented players to play, by penalizing him for every move they made.

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Caroline wrote on July 20, 2007 at 10:51:08 AM
It's a disgrace what happened last night. Argentinians are known for their theatrical display. Mr Stark should be penalized. It wasn't a fair play.

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C.J. Dembski wrote on July 20, 2007 at 10:56:10 AM
Another sad incident started by Toronto Police, every single report by eye witnesses has them using too much force way too early.
The ref. was horrid, simply a disgrace to the game. My heart goes out to Chile , and shame on Argentina for diving every two seconds.

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Allan wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:01:54 AM
The Chilean team should be escorted to the next available plane heading back to Chile . As far as I'm concerned their behaviour is unacceptable in the host country. The coaches and players should be taking their complaints to FIFA not a punch up on the streets.

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Rick the Soccer fan wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:02:53 AM
I just want to say that the refereeing was a disgrace to the soccer World... In Chile , everyone is blaming the Toronto Police for their treatment of these young kids

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Joanne Whittle wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:03:59 AM
And now rumor has it Chile will not be allowed to play in the final on Sunday. Typical, an overreaction of police leads to what should an embarrassment for Canada , and someone else pays the price. ... We should do everything in our power to make this up to the team.

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suribe wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:06:13 AM
In Chile any fight between an adult and a minor of 20 is called child abuse.

IAN ORWIN wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:21:08 AM
I am almost 60 years old and have played soccer all my life. The problem with this game was not the ref, although he was not entirely blameless, but the players who dive. They are ruining the game. They are a curse to every self respecting soccer player and fan. Ref's are asked to decide in a split second if a foul occured or not while some pathetic excuse for an athlete is writhing on the ground like he had been shot. ... North Americans will never embrace this stuff and soccer in North America will never cath on big.

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barry wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:22:43 AM
The game got out of hand because argentina is a disgrace to FIFA. Why dive like swans and hold your face when nothing happened? If soccer explodes in north america it won't be before FIFA bans or heavily fines/suspends players/clubs who do this sort of thing.

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Lorraine wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:32:50 AM
The referee in this game should bear the brunt of responsibility for the Chilean team's frustrations. He was clearly out of line and against Chile . I hope he never gets to referee an international game again. Also, Argnetina should be ashamed for such blatent unsportsmanship in the way they would fall down and cry at the least touch. I am sorry for the Chilean players who had a really great tournament till this.

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Alex Kovalenko wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:40:45 AM
I did not know soccer can be exciting to watch.. I was cheering for Chile till the last minute. Too bad about the ref...

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Amanda Farias wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:37:23 AM
I am writing to say that this "ill-tempered" brawl was started by the Toronto police, and the poor reffing skills from the refee. The Toronto police refused to let the Chilean team greet their fans while exiting the stadium. The team naturally got upset, having pent up emotion from the dissapointing game. The police took a very violent approch to the situation. The situation escalated due to the fact that the Chilean players were not able to communicate with the Toronto Police, because none of the players can speak English. One of my sources is a player from the Chilean team, and there is evidence of abuse on his hands, face, and arms. ...

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Stewie Griffin wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:43:30 AM
My dad is 71 years old, and used to play soccer for Hamburg in Germany . He can't even watch soccer anymore. The dives make him sick.

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Glas wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:43:45 AM
This game/incident shows why football is just not up to par in the world of sports. It is on the same level as pro wrestling, a joke.

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JF Chalmers wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:44:21 AM
Yesterday's game between Arg. and Chile is the reason soccer will never take off in N. America ... horrible officiating and players who shamelessly cheat and fake injury...

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Selassie wrote on July 20, 2007 at 11:58:16 AM
Canadian police have little to no training in crowd control and over-reacted in their panic. The ref (Wolfgang Stark) usually does a much better job than in this game but seemed to not see or care about all the Argentinian dives.

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Danny Sayers wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:02:07 PM
The refereeing was awful yes, however these players should be punished to the fullest and should be subjected as a nation to future tournement bans. How can you overlook the Chilean sides actions? The players were attacking the ref? You should NEVER lay your hands on a referee!!!!!

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Jeffrey Alexander wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:04:09 PM
All the Chilean players were trying to do is meet with the hundred or so fans waiting to see them. I was there. It was the Toronto Police who decided that this was not going to happen on their watch. They started manhandling the players, using batons, tazers and pepper spray. ... If the Police had allowed the fans to say hello to the team, take a few pictures and tell them that they played well under the circumstances, none of this would have happened.

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j. Arnold wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:18:46 PM
The Chilean press was filming during the incident last night. They have footage of what really happened and it is outrageous that the Canadian press were on the scene and had their cameras turned off. To say that this all happened out of range of the press is an outright lie. Footage is being shown all over South America and all over the world via satelite.
Perhaps the Canadian press chould cover this story more indepth, instead of the Harry Potter book. This has become an international incident that will see Canada written off as a host country for future sporting events.

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Ignacio Montero wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:28:37 PM
As I see it, there is a cultural misunderstanding at the bottom-line of the occured events. In Spain , Italy , England , Brazil and allover
South America fans are very important for football (you call it soccer). Giving autographs and shake hands after the game before entering the bus is normal, even necessary. On the other hand, police and security has their own agenda, and presumably were too strict and narrow-minded to see this dynamic relationship player-fan (in Canada sorry to say it, you don't know about football and its surrounding culture and codes . Chilean players didn't mean to misrespect the policeman, just to continue in their role of professional players in and outside the field.

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Jessica wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:31:45 PM
FIFA should be investigating this incident before they put blame on Chile players and officials...

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Roberto Iturrieta wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:48:52 PM
Four reasons yesterday's match ended like that. 1.: Argentinians dive and cry like little girls to impress the referee. 2.: Bad referee. 3.: Violent brainless police (in Chile we have a lot of them, too.) 4.: Chilean players' mental weakness. Most of these kids at 19 are earning more money than they FAMILIES would ever dream, they are very skillfull kicking a ball, but can't even speak fluently.
Also I like to add that Argentina did not play better than Chile , the score doesnt show how the match was.

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Joel wrote on July 20, 2007 at 12:57:21 PM
Finally something about soccer *yawn* that is mildly entertaining.

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Randy wrote on July 20, 2007 at 1:02:54 PM
I don't like to watch soccer because the players always act like a bunch of wussies. The Argentineans should be soundly booed for the kind of players they are(what a lousy way to win) and the Chileans should be thrown out of there next game for being the biggest babies! They showed absolutely no class in defeat...

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Philip Lee wrote on July 20, 2007 at 1:10:25 PM
IAN ORWIN is bang on.
I play recreational soccer, and coach a recreational youth team. Before every game, I remind the players to play hard and play fair.
Sitting watching, not only this tournament, but many other professional soccer games, is painful. The display of unsportsmanlike behaviour towards the refs and the fellow professionals by diving and acting is pathetic.
I agree that until FIFA deals with this blatant cheating, professional soccer will never become a mainstream sport in Canada .

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Charles Bowman wrote on July 20, 2007 at 1:45:02 PM
If there is any doubt of who started the fight, just answer yourselves this question:
"Could it be possible that the Chilean players, all under 20, average height 5.5, 165 pounds are dumb enough to confron trained police officers, carrying tasers, clubs, pepper spray and outnumber them by far?"
Pretty clear to me.

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