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Universidad de Chile have accused opponents Independiente and the Argentine police of failing to protect their supporters from a “brutal and inhuman beating” that hospitalised 19 of their supporters.

The Copa Sudamericana last-16 match was abandoned on Wednesday following violent clashes in the stands in Buenos Aires.

Violence broke out at half-time when objects including a stun grenade were thrown from the away section on to the bottom tier that contained home supporters.

The match was abandoned in the second half when home fans entered the away section, attacking the visiting supporters and forcing them to flee.

Universidad de Chile say 16 of the 19 supporters hospitalised have been discharged, while a fan in life-threatening condition remains in intensive care but has “significantly improved” after having surgery for a skull fracture.

The Chilean club say the night will be “remembered as one of the most violent chapters in the history of football”.

They allege that Independiente fans “entered the visiting section unhindered” and performed “extremely violent and inhuman acts, impossible to detail in this statement due to their brutality”.

Universidad de Chile have also accused Independiente supporters of attempting to enter the away dressing room to attack their players and said the windows of their bus were smashed.

Argentine side Independiente countered the claims, saying the incidents began in the away section before the match and that supporters attacked and disabled the stadium’s CCTV system.

They said the visiting supporters “destroyed the restroom facilities” and “launched fireworks” at the home fans, which caused “unacceptable attacks” in response.

Independiente strongly denied claims they failed to follow safety protocols, insisting that the necessary decisions were activated but they were “not enough to contain the excessive violence displayed”.

The club said they would ban the “criminals disguised as fans who responded violently to the attacks by the visiting fans” and said they would seek compensation for the “material damages” to their facilities.

Fifa president Gianni Infantino condemned the violence and urged local authorities to punish those responsible.

“Violence has no place in football – players, fans, staff, officials and everyone who enjoys our beautiful game should be able to do so without fear,” Infantino wrote on his Instagram page.

“Our thoughts are with all the innocent victims impacted and we expect the relevant authorities to hold those responsible for these barbaric acts to account.”

Conmebol, which runs major South American tournaments and who took the decision to abandon the match, said it was cancelled because of a “lack of security guarantees from the local club and the local security authorities”.

The Tour of Spain: never likely to have quite the same brand impact as the Tour de France.

But while the youngest three-week race of the Grand Tour trio is often the most overlooked, the Vuelta a Espana might just be the most competitive and entertaining of the year.

Why? Put simply, Tadej Pogacar is just too good these days. He has won the past two Tours de France by a combined 10 minutes.

But Pogacar is not riding the Vuelta, as he focuses attention on September’s World Championships.

And while the 26-year-old Slovenian is away training in a jersey which specifically asks people not to stop him or take photographs, the rest of the peloton are seeking glory.

“I’m looking forward to this Tour of Spain”, said 28-year-old Jonas Vingegaard – the favourite given he is the only rider to have beaten Pogacar at the Tour de France, taking titles in 2022 and 2023.

Things have changed, and this summer’s Grande Boucle – the ‘ great loop ‘ around France – proved it.

Vingegaard’s lung injuries from a harrowing crash last year possibly still linger, meaning there’s pressure on the Dane to win something and uphold his status as being the only rider anywhere near Pogacar’s level.

Britain’s great hope Tom Pidcock has impressed at his new Q36.5 team this season, winning the Saudi Tour, becoming a European mountain bike champion and showing strongly in the Giro d’Italia and Arctic Race of Norway.

He has not scored wins on Alpe d’Huez level, as he did at the Tour de France in 2022 for Ineos Grenadiers, and many see this race in Spain as his big chance to make a serious impact in the overall general classification.

The 26-year-old has talked in the past about believing he has the physiology to win over three weeks – a quality most riders don’t have.

“There are plenty of stages with profiles that could suit a rider like me, and there’s even a stage in Andorra, quite close to where I live”, said Pidcock before this race.

“We learned from the Giro]d’Italia] and had more time for thorough preparation this time, with an altitude camp and the Arctic Race of Norway. I’m curious to see what I can do in the general classification”.

But winning one or more of the Vuelta stages will be impactful in itself, as his team seemingly sign rider after rider during cycling’s ‘ transfer window ‘ to help support their overall leader.

So what of the route on this famously golden, late-summer jaunt?

First of all, the 2025 race actually begins in Italy’s Piedmont region, where there are enough hills for the classics specialists to entertain across the early stages.

But with 10 summit finishes and several of them in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Cantabrian and Basque mountains, and the Central System near to Madrid, there is a lot for the climbers to enjoy and slim pickings for the sprinters, who excel on the flat roads.

By stage five, the hunt for the red jersey will be getting serious with the race’s one individual time trial. There is a team time trial to mix things up later on too, but it is the mountainous tests, such as the climbs up to the Alto de Angliru and the penultimate stage slugfest on the Bola del Mundo, which will probably bring the most drama.

The Tour of Spain: never likely to have quite the same brand impact as the Tour de France.

But while the youngest three-week race of the Grand Tour trio is often the most overlooked, the Vuelta a Espana might just be the most competitive and entertaining of the year.

Why? Put simply, Tadej Pogacar is just too good these days. He has won the past two Tours de France by a combined 10 minutes.

But Pogacar is not riding the Vuelta, as he focuses attention on September’s World Championships.

And while the 26-year-old Slovenian is away training in a jersey which specifically asks people not to stop him or take photographs, the rest of the peloton are seeking glory.

“I’m looking forward to this Tour of Spain”, said 28-year-old Jonas Vingegaard – the favourite given he is the only rider to have beaten Pogacar at the Tour de France, taking titles in 2022 and 2023.

Things have changed, and this summer’s Grande Boucle – the ‘ great loop ‘ around France – proved it.

Vingegaard’s lung injuries from a harrowing crash last year possibly still linger, meaning there’s pressure on the Dane to win something and uphold his status as being the only rider anywhere near Pogacar’s level.

Britain’s great hope Tom Pidcock has impressed at his new Q36.5 team this season, winning the Saudi Tour, becoming a European mountain bike champion and showing strongly in the Giro d’Italia and Arctic Race of Norway.

He has not scored wins on Alpe d’Huez level, as he did at the Tour de France in 2022 for Ineos Grenadiers, and many see this race in Spain as his big chance to make a serious impact in the overall general classification.

The 26-year-old has talked in the past about believing he has the physiology to win over three weeks – a quality most riders don’t have.

“There are plenty of stages with profiles that could suit a rider like me, and there’s even a stage in Andorra, quite close to where I live”, said Pidcock before this race.

“We learned from the Giro]d’Italia] and had more time for thorough preparation this time, with an altitude camp and the Arctic Race of Norway. I’m curious to see what I can do in the general classification”.

But winning one or more of the Vuelta stages will be impactful in itself, as his team seemingly sign rider after rider during cycling’s ‘ transfer window ‘ to help support their overall leader.

So what of the route on this famously golden, late-summer jaunt?

First of all, the 2025 race actually begins in Italy’s Piedmont region, where there are enough hills for the classics specialists to entertain across the early stages.

But with 10 summit finishes and several of them in the Spanish Pyrenees and the Cantabrian and Basque mountains, and the Central System near to Madrid, there is a lot for the climbers to enjoy and slim pickings for the sprinters, who excel on the flat roads.

By stage five, the hunt for the red jersey will be getting serious with the race’s one individual time trial. There is a team time trial to mix things up later on too, but it is the mountainous tests, such as the climbs up to the Alto de Angliru and the penultimate stage slugfest on the Bola del Mundo, which will probably bring the most drama.

Women’s Rugby World Cup – Pool C: Ireland v Japan

Venue: Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton Date: Sunday, 24 August Kick-off: 12: 00 BST

Former Ireland captain Nichola Fryday has joined BBC Sport as a pundit for the Women’s Rugby World Cup. In her first column, the retired former Exeter Chiefs player explores what Ireland have got right since failing to qualify in 2021, players to look out for and what to expect from Japan.

During the last World Cup, Ireland watched with envy from home after failing to qualify for the first time since 1991. Three years on, it’s a different story. Not only are Ireland in the tournament, but I think they should be targeting a semi-final.

This would have been inconceivable a few years ago. I was on the pitch when we lost to Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers in Parma in 2021.

It was a dark time for us, both on and off the pitch. As a squad, we were working full-time and pretty much training and playing full-time on top of that. We’d work Monday to Friday, go into camp on Friday evening, do close to eight sessions and come back out on Sunday night before going back to work on Monday.

It was a stressful existence and we didn’t even have a World Cup to look forward to at the end of it.

Thankfully, things have since moved in the right direction since. With more investment and contracts for players, Ireland have reaped the rewards. There have been back-to-back third-place finishes in the Six Nations and a promotion to WXV1, where we earned a memorable win over New Zealand last year.

That win over the Black Ferns means Scott Bemand’s side must target first place in Pool C. If they do that, it would likely mean facing Italy or South Africa in the quarter-final and Ireland are capable of beating either.

As has been well-documented, Ireland are without some of their starting pack. Dorothy Wall and Erin King have both starred at international level recently and were poised to make a major impression at this tournament, so losing them to injury has been a big blow in the build-up.

When we didn’t qualify for the World Cup, it was a collective disappointment because none of us were going. But to be left at home injured is particularly devastating and I’m sure there’s been dark days for both of them.

They’re both young though and I’m sure they’ll feature at future World Cups.

For me, the return of Sam Monaghan is the biggest piece of squad news.

If Sam hadn’t been available for the tournament, it would have been a completely different outlook. She is that big a player for this team. We don’t call her ‘ Sammy Bill ‘ Monaghan for no reason.

Edel McMahon should also be back during the tournament, so having both co-captains available is a huge boost.

There are a few Ireland players people should look out for, too.

Beibhinn Parsons has returned from a broken leg and has the quality to light up this tournament. She got some minutes in the warm-up gamers against Scotland and Canada but she didn’t get much ball, so people will not have seen what she can really do.

Beibhinn has been in the Ireland set-up since she was 16 and with good reason: she’s one of the best wingers Ireland have ever had.

Another player I’m excited to watch is Aoibheann Reilly at scrum-half. She had some rotten luck with a couple of ACL injuries, but after returning in the Six Nations, she can form an effective half-back partnership with Dannah O’Brien.

Of course, there are always surprise selections in a World Cup squad and Nancy McGillivray wouldn’t have been on a lot of people’s radars at the start of the year.

For me, she is a real gem of a player for Ireland to have. I know Nancy from our time together at Exeter and I believe she has the ability to become a stalwart at centre for Ireland over the next decade.

Scott has included Ellena Perry in his squad, too, but there’s no questioning here ability. She’s been at Gloucester-Hartpury for years, has won Premiership titles and will surely drive the standards of that Irish front row.

As for the Japan game, I’m expecting it to be fast-paced and physical. Japan head coach Lesley McKenzie has placed an emphasis on the conditioning of the players in the lead-up to the World Cup.

Japan are notorious for being a quick team, but they have been working hard on the physical side and I’m sure they will have something up their sleeve when it comes to set-piece time.

They have a strong front row, too, especially if Sachiko Kato is starting. I played with her in Exeter: she’s a strong scrummager and is lethal around the tryline from two or three metres out.

For Ireland, it’s about playing smart rugby and outworking Japan but I have seen enough from our girls in the warm-up games to be confident about an opening victory in Northampton on our return to the biggest stage for the first time in eight years.