At 13,000 feet, Estadio Los Andes in Bolivia is one of the highest soccer stadiums in the world. It is also the only one to my knowledge that has been the scene of a mass kidnapping this season. All 43 players, coaches and personnel of the La Paz FC pro soccer team were locked into their stadium for more than four hours on Wednesday; prevented from leaving by fans who were protesting the league’s decision to hold a scheduled home game across town at a larger stadium. Yes, correct: the team’s own fans held them “hostage.”
LFPB (Bolivia’s Football Association) closed the stadium this week, saying that the ground was was unsafe. This despite the fact that the Condor Men had already played two matches there. Faced with trekking across town for home games, local fans decided to padlock the gates … with their team still inside. La Paz FC had just finished practice when the discovered that they weren’t going anywhere. Among complaints by fans is that the other stadium is difficult to get to, and that local businesses will suffer without the games. Unprofessional Foul:
The players were kidnapped for over four hours and finally released a little after 10 p.m., following negotiations with local authorities.
According to El Alto’s sports director, Edgar Maraz, “this is a hard blow for our city. This is discrimination, because we don’t see a reason why our stadium should be banned. The universality of football isn’t being respected.”
Authorities have promised to help the town upgrade its stadium, but there is still a ban on playing there for the immediate future. Once freed, La Paz FC went on went on to play its scheduled home game against San José across town at Hernando Siles. And won, 1-0 — its first win of the season.
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SASIC: Fans Kidnap Their Team in Bolivia [Unprofessional Foul]
