Whenever Argentina and Brazil meet, its best to keep temperatures and tensions as low as possible. And clearly, the family of Brazil's new president-elect has studied the art of diplomacy. Or perhaps not.
Speaking yesterday, Eduardo Bolsonaro – the son of Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right congressman who won Brazil's presidential run-off last Sunday – sparked uproar in Argentina after declaring that Boca Juniors' famous La Bombonera stadium "smells bad."
Bolsonaro Jnr, a congressman himself, was re-elected with two million votes on Sunday. However, he wasted no time in insulting Boca and their legions of fans, telling Argentine website MDZ on Tuesday that the stadium in the La Boca neighbourhood stinks.
Palmeiras, the side Bolsonaro Jnr supports, will play against Boca on Wednesday for a place in the prestigious Copa Libertadores final.
Boca beat Palmeiras 2-0 in their first leg at La Bombonera last week and are fighting to set up the first ever Superclásico final showdown against their arch-rivals River Plate, who qualified last night after defeating Grêmio.
In truth, Argentine fans were split on social media over the controversial comments, with some (most likely River fans) supporting Bolsonaro's comments and Boca fans criticising him for raising tensions ahead of a high-profile match that will be closely watched by security.
- TIMES/AP
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