Chile: Copa Chile Match Abandoned as Flares Hit Pitch in Viña del Mar
Security: Chile
Key Facts
—Abandonment. The Copa Chile round-of-16 first leg between Everton and Universidad de Chile was definitively suspended at minute 82 on Thursday, 24 September, with the visitors leading 1-0.
—Cause. Barras of both clubs threw flares and fireworks; one flare landed on the pitch near the team benches at Viña del Mar’s Estadio Sausalito.
—Decision. Carabineros and the Presidential Delegation ordered the match stopped and the stadium evacuated; referee Piero Maza said there had been “great risk for players and spectators”.
—Context. Chile’s 2026 season began under strict security curbs after a historic 40-year jail sentence for barra killers — and repeated crowd trouble involving Universidad de Chile’s fans.
—Open. The ANFP disciplinary tribunal must now decide whether the 1-0 stands, the match is replayed, or one club forfeits the tie.
Chilean football suffered another night of chaos on Thursday: the Copa Chile tie between Everton and Universidad de Chile was abandoned eight minutes from time after rival barras showered the Sausalito with flares, forcing the authorities to clear the stadium.
The Abandonment at the Sausalito
The round-of-16 first leg had reached the 82nd minute on Thursday evening, with Universidad de Chile protecting a 1-0 lead away to Everton, when the match disintegrated. Flares thrown from the stands began landing on the playing surface — one fell on the pitch close to the team benches, Emol reported — and play could not continue safely.
The decision to stop the game definitively was taken not by the referee alone but by Carabineros and the Presidential Delegation, the state authority responsible for public order at mass events in Chile. The Estadio Sausalito was then evacuated, Tele13 reported.
Referee Piero Maza put the authorities’ reasoning bluntly afterwards: there had been “great risk for the players and the spectators”. Within hours, TVN was calling it a “scandal” for the Copa Chile — and few in Chilean football disagreed.
What Happened in the Stands
According to Al Aire Libre and Emol, the pyrotechnics came from the organised supporter groups — the barras — of both clubs. Flares and fireworks were thrown in the closing minutes, some falling on the field and others close to the dugouts, turning the final stretch of a cup tie into a security emergency.
The Sausalito, Viña del Mar’s municipal stadium, is one of the traditional venues of Chilean football and was a 1962 World Cup ground. That a last-16 cup match there had to be abandoned under police orders underlines how far the country’s stadium-security crisis still has to go.
Neither club escaped blame in the first reporting: accounts consistently describe both sets of barras as participants, which will matter when the ANFP’s disciplinary tribunal apportions responsibility.
A Season Already on Edge
Thursday’s abandonment did not come out of nowhere. Chile’s 2026 season opened in January under unprecedented security restrictions — including visitor-fan bans — after a Valparaíso court handed down qualified life sentences of 40 years to three Santiago Wanderers barras for the murder of Colo Colo fans, the first time Chile’s stadium-violence law was successfully applied to a killing.
Universidad de Chile’s own season began with serious crowd disorder against Audax Italiano at the Estadio Nacional, where fires were started in the south gallery; the club identified seven supporters for prosecution and four people were detained. The club has since been under ANFP observation.
The club’s barras were also at the centre of the abandonment of a Copa Sudamericana tie against Independiente in Avellaneda in August 2025, which triggered a Conmebol disciplinary case. Thursday’s events add a domestic chapter to an already heavy file.
What Happens to the Tie Now
With the match abandoned at 82 minutes and Universidad de Chile 1-0 up, the sporting question passes to the ANFP disciplinary tribunal. Its options range from letting the result stand, to ordering a replay, to awarding the tie to one side — or sanctioning both clubs.
Precedent suggests the sanctions will be severe. Unión La Calera was banned from playing with home fans in the Copa Chile after a similar abandonment in 2025, with the punishment even rolling into the following edition of the tournament. Both Everton and Universidad de Chile now face that prospect.
For the authorities, the case is another test of the harder line promised for 2026: named prosecutions of identified offenders, facial-recognition ticket controls and stadium bans for clubs whose barras reoffend.
What We Could Not Confirm
The number of arrests and any injuries from Thursday’s incidents had not been officially detailed at the time of publication.
The ANFP tribunal has not yet said when it will rule on the fate of the tie, and neither club had issued a full statement on possible internal sanctions against their own supporter groups.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why was Everton vs Universidad de Chile suspended?
The Copa Chile round-of-16 first leg at Viña del Mar’s Sausalito was abandoned at minute 82 on 24 September after barras of both clubs threw flares and fireworks, one of which landed on the pitch near the benches. Carabineros and the Presidential Delegation ordered the stadium evacuated with Universidad de Chile leading 1-0.
What happens to the Copa Chile tie now?
The ANFP disciplinary tribunal must decide whether the 1-0 score stands, the match is replayed or one club forfeits. Based on the Unión La Calera precedent in 2025, both clubs also risk playing future cup matches behind closed doors.
Why is Chilean football struggling with stadium violence?
Repeated barra violence has forced Chile into its toughest security regime yet for 2026: visitor bans, facial-recognition ticketing and named prosecutions, after a court jailed three barra killers for 40 years in December 2025 — the first successful murder conviction under the stadium-violence law.
Sources
Emol · Tele13 · TVN · Al Aire Libre
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Sources: Emol; Tele13; TVN; Al Aire Libre.
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