Three sought over murders of Rosario Central football hooligans

Police in Argentina on Monday were searching for three people in connection with the murder of two members of a notorious football hooligan gang after a game in Rosario over the weekend.

Andrés ‘Pillín’ Bracamonte, leader of the Rosario Central hooligan gang, was shot dead on Saturday night outside the side’s Gigante de Arroyito stadium along with his deputy, Daniel "Rana" Atardo.

Bracamonte, 53, and Atardo, 55, were ambushed near the stadium after a match between Rosario and San Lorenzo, which Rosario lost 1-0.

The pair were in a van which was intercepted by "at least three people" travelling on foot, homicide prosecutor Alejandro Ferlazzo told reporters. 

The victims each sustained five gunshot wounds, with 11 fired in total.

Ferlazzo said there were "many eyewitnesses" to the attack and assured that those who came forward with information would be given security guarantees.

The police chief said that the club "does not have any external or internal film recordings" of that day. 

He also said that they are investigating the causes of a power cut in the area at the time of the crime, adding: "It could be a normal malfunction that the perpetrators took advantage of, although we are not ruling out any other hypothesis."

"We want to be cautious and work to get an answer as quickly as possible," said Matías Merlo, the regional prosecutor in charge of the case.

The match had no visiting fans, so the initial hypotheses point to a possible adjustment between Rosario's hooligans.

Merlo said that Bracamonte's case "goes beyond the issue of the management of Rosario Central's supporters and extends to various illicit businesses." 

Hooligan gangs, or "barra bravas," are mafia-like organisations run by hardcore supporters with links to several of the countries' top clubs.

Bracamonte had been banned from attending Rosario's matches due to his history of violence.

During his 25 years leading Rosario's barra brava, he was the target of nearly 30 murder attempts, according to provincial Justice Minister Pablo Cococcioni.

On August 10, an assassination attempt was made when Bracamonte was shot at while travelling with his partner. 

The killings stoked fears of a series of tit-for-tat attacks among hooligan groups in Rosario, hometown of Lionel Messi, which has been plagued by violence linked to drug-trafficking in recent years.

Regional prosecutor Matias Merlo said authorities were working to solve the case "as quickly as possible."

Bracamonte appeared in court last Friday on charges of gender-based violence, for which the prosecutor had requested two years' imprisonment.

He was also charged with extortion, criminal conspiracy and money-laundering.

Fights between football fans are common in Argentina, and have claimed more than 350 lives since the creation of the professional league in the late 1800s, according to the Salvemos al Futbol (Save Football) NGO.

Away fans are banned from attending matches in Argentina – a measure to ensure safety.

– TIMES/AFP