Football
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Boca Juniors will face severe penalties, says CONMEBOL official

ASUNCION, Paraguay -- Boca Juniors should be severely penalised after a Copa Libertadores playoff with bitter rival River Plate was suspended at Boca's La Bombonera Stadium, a top South American football official said on Saturday.

"We have to meet the requirements of FIFA," said Jose Luis Meiszner, secretary general of South American governing body CONMEBOL. "There will be severity in the penalties."

The second-leg match in the round of 16 on Thursday was stopped when River Plate players were sprayed with a caustic substance as they took the field for the second half. Many rubbed their eyes or doused them with water to clear their vision.

CONMEBOL is expected to announce any sanctions, and the outcome of the suspended match, this weekend.

River won the first leg 1-0 last week, and Thursday's match was 0-0 when it was suspended in front of about 50,000 fans before the second half could begin.

The match turned to chaos when River players came out of a temporary tunnel rubbing their eyes and pulling their shirts over their faces. Police and officials waited on the field for more than an hour before suspending the game.

Thursday's match was the third between them in 12 days, and they each had won once.

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