Soccer brawl leaves 80 wounded, 18 with stab wounds

03/09/2008 A stadium brawl at a soccer rivalry game left about 80 people wounded in the Colombian city of Cali late Saturday, 18 of them with stab wounds. Fights broke out among America de Cali's "Red Baron" fan club in the 82nd minute of the match with Deportivo de Cali and spread onto the field and around the Pascual Guerrero stadium. Police fired tear gas as the brawlers lit firecrackers and tried to tear down fencing separating the stands from the field. 18 people were stabbed during the brawl. They were treated at the stadium and taken to a local hospital. Another 60 suffered bruises and other minor injuries. A young pregnant woman and 3 police officers were among the wounded. Tensions flared over referee Wilman Roldan's decision not to call a penalty kick against Cali. America protested the no-call, players traded blows on the field and America coach Diego Edison Umana also got into the fray, elbowed his Cali counterpart Daniel Carreno. Cali Mayor Jorge Ivan Ospina called Umana "directly responsible" for the violence and said the stadium's stands would be closed temporarily. Umana had harsh words for the refereeing later in comments published on the Web site of El Tiempo newspaper, but said there was "no excuse" for his behavior. "It's my fault, and if I have to leave soccer I'll go," Umana said. Fans of the 2 Cali squads have clashed frequently in the past, but not on such a level. The chaos led Roldan to whistle an early end to the match, which Deportivo won 1-0 on a goal from defender Freddy Hurtado.