Corpse smuggled into football match in Colombia

Police officers were caught napping at a top flight clash in Colombia as fans managed to smuggle in a coffin containing a corpse.

The incident occurred when police officers opened the stadium gates 15 minutes before the end of a match between Cúcuta Deportivo and Envigado. Instead of fans pouring out of the Estadio General Santander to beat the traffic, hundreds of supporters rushed into the ground along with the recently deceased.

The coffin even made it onto the terraces in time to witness home team Cúcuta Deportivo snatch a dramatic late equalizer.

Cúcuta's police chief, Alvaro Pico Malaver, admitted that the incident had taken his officers by surprise.

"We think that the plan was concocted and carried out by the fans on both sides of the gate. As soon as we opened the doors between 200 and 300 fans rushed in with the coffin.

"They surprised us, we never imagined a thing like this could happen. These type of things are a learning process for police officers."

The body within the coffin has been identified as belonging to Cristopher Alexander Jácome Sanguino. 17-year-old Sanguino was gunned down in a drive-by shooting the day before the visit of Envigado while he was playing football in the street.

As a member of Cúcuta Deportivo's hardcore supporters, la barra del indio, it appears Sanguino's death wish was to see his team play one more time.

While in his coffin, Sanguino spent eight minutes in the heart of Cúcuta Deportivo's home terrace on his final trip to the ground. His coffin quickly became the focal point of the crowd's celebrations following Diego Espinel late equalizer for the home side.

Before the incident police had already banned all members of la barra del indio from entering their stadium, still the supporters managed to wrong foot the officials. One person who is fully in favour of the supporter's actions was Sanguino's mother, Yamile.

"I took him to the stadium ever since he was a little boy. He loved the game and he loved his team so what better way to honour him?"

Cúcuta Deportivo have recently emerged as a force in Colombian football after winning their first top flight title in 2006. The following year they reached the semi-finals of the Copa Libertadores before being eliminated by eventual champions Boca Juniors.

The club also gave former Newcastle United striker Faustino Asprilla his big break and has a long history of craziness both on and off the pitch.

Alejandro Pérez and Tim Sturtridge host The South American Football Show in association with The Independent. For more information click here.