Liga MX - Queretaro home fans banned for 1 year 'barras' get 3-year ban, owners must sell club

Liga MX club Queretaro will play home matches with no fans for one year and ban the barras supporters' groups for three years as part of its punishment following scenes of violence at a soccer game last weekend that left 26 people injured.

The punishments, following clashes between fans during Queretaro's match against visiting Atlas at Estadio Corregidora on Saturday, were announced on Tuesday by Mexican Football Federation president Yon de Luisa and Liga MX president Mikel Arriola.

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Queretaro's ownership group (Gabriel Solares, Adolfo Ríos, Greg Taylor and Manuel Velarde) will also be banned from league-related activities for five years and the club will be returned to previous owners Grupo Caliente, which owns fellow Liga MX club Tijuana. Queretaro's current ownership will also be fined 1.5 million pesos ($70,450 U.S.).

Grupo Caliente will be tasked with selling Queretaro by the end of this year, and if unable to do so, it will go under the ownership of Liga MX.

«Starting today, measures will be implemented that will mark a before and after in the protocols that must be observed and followed,» Arriola said at a news conference. «We are facing the problem head-on, with the aim of changing this negative image from the previous weekend.»

Saturday's match was suspended midgame after multiple fights broke out in the stands. Security personnel opened the gates to the field so that fans, including women and children, could escape the clashes. Authorities announced on Tuesday that 10 arrests have been made on potential charges that include violence in a sporting event and attempted homicide.

Of the 26 people injured, 19 have been released,