The president orders a national holiday so that the country can celebrate winning the soccer world championship title. When the team is received in the Argentine capital, there are chaotic scenes. Millions are on the streets - bringing the parade to an early end.
In view of the enormous crowds, the fan parade to receive the world champions in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires has been canceled. After the bus with the national team had hardly made any progress for several hours, the players left the vehicle at a sports facility and boarded two water police helicopters. They then skimmed the waiting fans in downtown Buenos Aires. Millions of people cheered the players in the helicopters.
The national team had previously set out for the capital in an open-topped bus from the grounds of the AFA Football Association outside the gates of Buenos Aires. In view of the huge crowd, however, the bus only advanced at walking pace or sometimes not at all. The team would have needed hours on the planned route. According to the police, around five million people were out and about in Buenos Aires.
Association President Claudio Tapia raised allegations against the security authorities. "They didn't allow us to greet everyone at the obelisk and the same security forces who escorted us didn't allow us to proceed. A thousand apologies on behalf of all master players. A shame," he tweeted.
President Alberto Fernández had ordered a national holiday so that the country could celebrate the historic victory. Chaotic scenes then played out in the Argentine capital: fans flocked to bridges and the city highway, many climbed onto traffic lights and traffic signs. At around 30 degrees, they waited for hours in the blazing sun for the national team to arrive. The subway service was stopped. The airline Aerolíneas Argentinas warned of problems with delayed flights due to the traffic chaos. Cell phone networks were also overloaded at times.
