Assassination attempt postpones Friday's Argentina soccer games

As a result of a recent assassination attempt Thursday, the Argentina Football Association postponed all games on Friday. The attempt came on Argentina’s Vice President, Dr. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner. Fortunately, the Vice President escaped. Subsequently, authorities took the suspect into custody following the incident.

Cameras were rolling when a man’s arm was seen holding a handgun close to Fernandez de Kirchner’s face. The gun jammed and never fired. Speaking on the ordeal, Argentina President Alberto Fernandez claimed that the Vice President is doing well. 

“Cristina is still alive because—for some reason we can’t technically confirm at this moment—the weapon, which was armed with five bullets, did not shoot although the trigger was pulled,” said President Fernandez.

The Vice President was outsider her home greeting supporters when the suspect pulled out the firearm. She served as President of Argentina from 2007 to 2015. Plus, she was the country’s first lady for four years prior to that.

Authorities are still determining a motive for the assassination attempt.

Argentina suspends soccer games due to assassination attempt

In light of the situation, the President declared a national holiday. Consequently, the Argentina FA stepped in to cancel all scheduled games in the country.

“The Argentinian Football Association expresses its strongest repudiation of what happened with vice president Cristina Fernández de Kirchner,” the statement read. “We call on society as a whole, warning that violence of any kind is never the solution.”

Three matches in the country’s top flight were among the canceled games. The three games, Patronato vs. Union, Lanús vs. Tigre and Rosario Central vs. Talleres all moved to either Saturday or Sunday. Moreover, games from the women’s championship, reserve leagues and third tier also suffered postponements.

There are 10 total Primera Division matches set to be played this weekend.  This includes the popular River Plate and Boca Juniors clubs.  The Primera Division typically runs from the beginning of June through October.

PHOTO: IMAGO / Panthermedia