Argentina suspends football matches after vice president assassination attempt

All football matches in Argentina were suspended on Friday after an assassination attempt on the country’s vice president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) made the announcement Thursday night after the attack, which took place in Buenos Aires.

Fernandez de Kirchner was arriving at her home in the Recoleta neighbourhood when a man emerged from a crowd and pointed a gun at her head from close range.

The pistol — which was loaded with five bullets — was triggered but did not fire correctly. A 35-year-old man has been arrested.

Friday was declared a national holiday by President Alberto Fernandez and the AFA said that all football activity had been suspended.

“The Argentinian Football Association expresses its strongest repudiation of what happened with vice president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner,” the AFA said in a statement. “We call on society as a whole, warning that violence of any kind is never the solution.”

Three matches had been due to take place in Argentina’s First Division on Friday: Patronato vs. Union, Rosario Central vs. Talleres and Lanus vs. Tigre.

A number of other games have also been postponed, including in Argentina’s regionalised third tier, the women’s championship, and the reserve league.