River Plate Refuse to Play in Madrid After CONMEBOL Change Copa Libertadores Venue to Bernabeu

River Plate have released a statement saying they will refuse to play at Real Madrid's Bernabeu after CONMEBOL changed the venue of the Copa Libertadores final

River Plate have released a statement saying they will refuse to play at Real Madrid's Bernabeu after CONMEBOL changed the venue of the Copa Libertadores final second leg.

The first leg finished 2-2 at Boca's ground and the two teams were due to face off again last Saturday for the return fixture. 

However, three Boca players, including former Manchester City forward Carlos Tevez, needed medical attention when River fans attacked Boca's bus as it approached the stadium. The game was delayed until Sunday and then postponed indefinitely.

CONMEBOL announced the second leg would be played at Los Blancos' home on December 9, but River has now refused the governing body's decree.

One part of the statement, released on the club's website, reads: "It is incomprehensible that the most important classic of Argentine football can not develop normally in the same country that in the days that run a G20 develops. 

"Argentine football as a whole and the Argentine Football Association (AFA) can not and should not allow a handful of violent ones to impede the development of the Superclásico in our country."

River gave two other reasons for their objection to the venue swap. Firstly, River state 'the failure of the security operation', which they sympathised with 'in a timely manner', was not the failure of the club.

Comunicado de prensa 👇 https://t.co/0jyXd7WoZd

— River Plate (@RiverPlate) December 1, 2018

Secondly, the club highlighted the 66,000 fans who would not be able to watch the match if it took place in Spain.