Bernabeu to host all-Argentine Copa final

ASUNCION: South American football’s governing body CONMEBOL on Thursday confirmed that the twice-postponed Copa Libertadores final second leg between Argentine rivals River Plate and Boca Juniors will be played on December 9 at Real Madrid’s Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

Originally scheduled for last weekend at River’s Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, it was postponed after some Boca players were injured when their team bus came under attack from their arch rivals’ fans throwing projectiles.

Boca appealed to CONMEBOL’s independent disciplinary committee to be awarded the trophy and have River expelled from the competition, but that was also rejected on Thursday. Instead, CONMEBOL hit River with a two-game stadium closure “that will be applied from 2019” in official continental competitions, and “a $400,000 fine.”