This friendly was anything but

A soccer “friendly” between rival Mexican clubs stretched the definition of the term Wednesday night in Las Vegas, as hundreds of fans brawled in the parking lot before the game, then brought the rumble inside, where the contention spilled over to the field.

The match between Club América and Chivas Guadalajara took place at Sam Boyd Stadium. The teams are longtime rivals, with their El Súper Clásico series dating back more than a half-century, with more than 200 matches played between the teams over the years.

According to local news reports, two buses arrived at the stadium carrying fans of the rival teams, and it didn’t take long for the dust-up to start, with fans attacking each other with rocks, bottles, flag poles and other items. No one was arrested, but six people were treated for fight-related injuries, according to local FOX affiliate KVVU:

Police were eventually able to contain the crowd, and after initial threats to cancel the match, fans were allowed inside.

However, that did little to dampen the hostility, which spilled onto the field in the 35th minute, when some contact around the Club América net set off a benches-clearing brawl that led to the ejections of four players, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Then in the game’s final minutes, the focus returned back to the fans, who began throwing things on the pitch, running on the field — which didn’t seem to particularly bother the players — and fighting each other shortly after Giovani Casillas’ goal in the 88th minute gave Chivas a 1-0 lead. The referees would end up calling the match prematurely, before the conclusion of stoppage time:

This fan video gives a pretty good perspective on the melee after the game.

So, yeah. “Friendly.”