Honduras soccer riot kills three after old grudges boil over

Reuters - Three people were killed and at least 10 injured in riots on Saturday (August 17) before a football match between rival teams in Honduras. Fans of the Olimpia and Motagua football teams, bitter local opponents, rioted outside Tegucigalpa's National Stadium after a crowd of people believed to be rival supporters intercepted and vandalised a bus transporting Motagua players, police said. The riot broke out after crowds threw stones at the bus carrying members of the Motagua team, sending shards of window glass at the players inside, according to the Motagua club, which blamed members of the Ultra-Faithful Olimpia fan club. Three of the players - Emilio Izaguirre, Roberto Moreira and Jonathan Rougier - were transferred to hospital with facial wounds, the Motagua club said. A statement from the Ministry of Security confirmed the bus attack and said its perpetrators wore the uniforms of the rival Olimpia team. The ministry added in the statement that it had set up "five rings of security" ahead of the game. The National Football League suspended the game after the incident. It had expected some 20,000 fans to attend. The president of Olympia club, Rafael Villeda, told local press that he would meet with the leadership of the National League and Motagua to decide on the future of the match.