'It seemed like a war'

Boca Juniors captain Pablo Perez compared incidents before the Copa Libertadores final to "war" after the second leg was postponed.

Boca Juniors players were hurt on Saturday when their bus was attacked by River Plate fans outside the stadium, ruining what was supposed to be a landmark day for Argentine football.

The all-Buenos Aires clash, the first time Argentina's two biggest clubs had met for the title, was billed as the greatest final in the competition's 58-year history but will instead be remembered for the violence that left players bleeding and almost all the windows on one side of the Boca bus shattered.

Boca's bus was showered with projectiles, with some smashing windows of the vehicle, before the clash was eventually pushed back by 24 hours.

Perez, who was reportedly one of three players taken to hospital for assessment, was unhappy with the pre-game incidents.

"I'm feeling hurt," he said. "This was supposed to be a party and it seemed more like a war."

Perez, whose team were held to a 2-2 draw in the first leg at home, confirmed he had suffered an eye injury.

"I've got an irked eye. They told me I have some injured spots in my eye," he said. "That could be caused by the glass splinters they got out from there

South American football's governing body twice rescheduled the kick-off in the hope of getting the game played but with a capacity 62,000 crowd waiting for the players to emerge they eventually decided to postpone the final.

"One can't play in these conditions," Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez told reporters.

The final of the competition, South America's equivalent of Europe's Champions League, was rescheduled for Sunday but it was again postponed, with a new date yet to be announced when this report was filed. A statement confirmed the match would not take place on Sunday, adding: "Conmebol president Alejandro Dominguez recognized Boca Juniors can't play today."