MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Chile condemns Toronto police in soccer scuffle
Canadian police surround Chilean players Chilean President Michelle Bachelet condemned Friday the Toronto police's “unjustified” actions after several members of the Chilean FIFA U-20 selection were reportedly shot with stun guns and sprayed with pepper spray after losing 3-0 to Argentina at Toronto's National Stadium.
Details of the incident still varied, but the story made front-page headlines on virtually every Chilean newspaper and tabloid publication. Pictures of injured team members, some with clearly visible wounds from stun gun shocks, were flashed around Chilean television. "We went to talk to the fans," team member Isaías Peralta told Chile's El Mercurio newspaper. "The police wouldn't let us pass and one pointed a gun at me. I didn't know what it was, and all of the sudden they shot me with electricity." "When I woke up ten policemen were hitting me and punching me in the face," he continued. "I removed something metal stuck to my back, but the police took at away so that I couldn't show it to the press." Team paramedic Luis Álvarez confirmed that even president of Chile's ANFP national football federation Harold Mayne-Nicholls was hit by police while trying to intervene. Harsh reaction Bachelet, meanwhile, ordered her country's Ministry of Foreign affairs to investigate the incident. "I'm extremely worried about what happened last night," South America's first female president said. "The response was clearly not justified." The Chilean consul in Toronto said they were currently investigating the incident. Average Chileans were also incensed. "The Toronto police were completely racist," said Javier Mena, a 22-year-old law student and soccer fan from Santiago. "Canadians don't understand the significance of being tortured with electricity. We lived through the Pinochet dictatorship for years, and many of those who were tortured are now living in Canada. The soccer players were just kids." Chile's press was especially critical of the Canadian press for characterizing the brawl as a "dog fight." Embassy protestSecurity was upped at the Canadian Embassy in Santiago after Chilean police confirmed the embassy had received a bomb threat. Protestors had earlier in the morning demonstrated outside of the complex, demanding that the Canadian Ambassador to Chile make a statement. The Embassy has yet to issue a statement on the subject. Nathan Crooks, a graduate of the University of Toronto, is former editor of The Santiago Times and currently a reporter for Business News Americas in Santiago, Chile.
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