Two Costa Rican fans of the Liga Deportiva Alajuelense soccer club were assaulted during their team’s match against Comunicaciones of Guatemala. Christian Castro and Evelyn Izaba were celebrating nine years of marriage on Thursday night. What started as a celebratory trip quickly turned into a nightmare.
They had planned to travel to Guatemala to celebrate and coincidentally discovered that their team was playing there. Excited to watch them play outside Costa Rica for the first time, they decided to buy tickets and attend the match. Both clubs had agreed not to allow organized fan groups into the stadiums to prevent violence and disputes between them. However, the couple wasn’t affiliated with any group; they simply wanted to enjoy the game.
“As I wasn’t sure which entrance to use, I asked a security guard if it was the right one. He rudely told me we couldn’t enter, and I explained that we weren’t part of any group,” said Castro. It was then that trouble began. A rival fan threw a beer at Castro and began insulting him. Soon, several others joined in, escalating the situation.
“There were about 15 or 20 people. I’m not sure how many exactly. They grabbed me and started hitting me. They wanted my shirt and sweater,” he recalled. Although Evelyn Izaba tried to run away, a man and woman caught her and punched her in the face.
As this unfolded, stadium security arrived but shockingly instructed Castro to hand over his shirt and sweater to the attackers. But the ordeal didn’t end there. As more security personnel arrived and helped the couple flee to another area of the stadium, they found the exit doors shut. At one of the entrances, another Comunicaciones fan approached Castro, insulted him, and struck him on the head with a three-meter aluminum pipe, leaving him dazed and injured.
“Then they put me in an ambulance, and we were hidden for two hours. They told us people were looking for us and asked us not to turn on our cell phones,” Castro said. Security personnel blamed Castro for the incident, saying he wasn’t supposed to be in the stadium. Desperate, Castro contacted the Costa Rican consul, who coordinated with high-ranking police officials to get them out. Eventually, they were escorted by a patrol car to the San Juan de Dios hospital.
