The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) on Tuesday rejected the appeal by Boca Juniors and upheld the initial sanctions against the Argentine club over the interruption of the Copa Libertadores match against Argentine rival River Plate last week.
"We have resolved to reject the appeal of Club Atletico Boca Juniors over the disciplinary court's decision of 16 May 2015. As a result, we confirm all the points of the initial decision," CONMEBOL said via news release and via Twitter.
(3/4) 1º. Desestimar el recurso de apelación del CLUB ATL. BOCA JUNIORS contra la decisión del Tribunal de Disciplina.
- CONMEBOL.com (@CONMEBOL_CSF) May 19, 2015
Thursday's match was suspended after Boca Juniors fans sprayed a caustic substance on opposing players at halftime. South America's governing body CONMEBOL eliminated Boca from this year's tournament and said the club will have to play their next four home international matches without fans in the stands. The team also will not be able to sell their fans tickets for their next four away games and they were fined $200,000.
Club officials considered the punishment unfair, saying the players didn't do anything wrong and the match should be continued.