Soccer match triggers call for help in Bridgeview
By Bob Bong
A soccer match on one of the practice fields at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview got heated Sunday evening, which led to mutual aid calls by the Bridgeview police.
“Two teams got into it,” said Bridgeview Police Chief Ricardo Mancha. “Then some of their fans got into it.”
To keep it from getting out of hand, Bridgeview police requested assistance from neighboring police agencies.
Mancha said the assisting police came with sirens and lights on, which added to the confusion as to what was going on at the stadium.
“The Chicago police helicopter was at Midway, so they responded, which made it even more dramatic,” Mancha said.
Mancha said the incident lasted about 10 minutes.
“There was no brawl,” Mancha said referring to social media reports that as many as 2,000 people were fighting in the parking lot of the stadium. “There were only 360 people involved including the teams and their fans.
“Nobody was arrested,” he added. “The teams were very apologetic afterwards.”
“I was getting calls from everyone,” he said. “People were asking should they shelter in place. I can laugh about it today, but I was on the phone all night reassuring people there was no civil unrest in Bridgeview.”
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