Violence-marred match hurts Brazil football image

Romer Osuna, a Bolivian official with CONMEBOL, said Tigre players were afraid to return to the field after the first half of play.

“The Tigre people declined to play because they considered security was not good enough,” Osuna told Fox Sports.

Referee Enrique Osses of Chile awarded the victory to Sao Paulo after waiting about 30 minutes for Tigre to retake the field.

Sao Paulo scored twice in five minutes in the first half _ a left-footed drive from Lucas in the 23rd and a lobbed shot from the right wing by Osvaldo in the 28th.

Sao Paulo, one of Brazil’s most famous clubs, is a three-time winner of the Copa Libertadores, South America’s most prestigious club tournament. It has also won the Club World Cup once, and twice won the Intercontinental Cup.

This was the club’s first Copa Sudamericana title.

Tigre was playing in its first international final and has never won the Argentine first-division title.

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Associated Press writers Steve Wade, Pedro Servin and Graham Dunbar contributed to this report.

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