BUENOS AIRES: River Plate, the record 33 times Argentine league champion, suffered its biggest humiliation ever with relegation to the second division for the first time Sunday. River drew 1-1 with Belgrano of the Nacional B Division in the second leg of a relegation-promotion playoff at the Monumental after a 2-0 defeat in the first leg in Cordoba Wednesday. Fans in the 60,000 plus crowd at the Monumental went wild with rage, throwing objects on to the pitch and some tried to climb over perimeter fencing to storm on to the field. Players of both sides had to leave the pitch under protection of stewards while police used high power hoses to try to the rioting fans. River raised their hopes soon after kickoff, going ahead in the sixth minute when striker Mariano Pavone controlled on the edge of the box, swivelled and shot low into the corner past diving keeper Juan Carlos Olave. Midfielder Guillermo Farre stunned the 60,000 plus Monumental crowd when he equalized just part the hour blasting the loose ball past a stranded goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo after a blunder in the River defence. River was awarded a penalty midway through the second half which Pavone shot to Olave's right but the goalkeeper saved, leaving River still needing two goals to save their top flight status. The referee did not add stoppage time as the rioting had already started. A tie on aggregate would have saved River from relegation. Corinthians rout Sao Paulo Striker Liedson scored a hat trick as Corinthians ended Sao Paulo's perfect start to the Brazilian season in a 5-0 rout Sunday. Argentine midfielder Dario Conca gave defending champion Fluminense a 1-0 win over Avai, while on Saturday Ronaldinho scored in Flamengo's 4-1 win over Atletico Mineiro and Argentine playmaker Walter Montillo scored twice to lead Cruzeiro to a 2-1 win over Coritiba. In other results Sunday, Botafogo beat Gremio 2-1 at the Engenhao, while Vasco da Gama edged Atletico Goianiense 1-0 in Goiania and Internacional routed Figueirense 4-1 in Porto Alegre. Messi, Tevez in squad Lionel Messi and Carlos Tevez were confirmed in Argentina's 23-man squad for the Copa America by coach Sergio Batista Saturday. Batista dropped three Argentina-based players from his provisional team to get down to the limit: Diego Valeri, Enzo Perez and Luciano Monzon. The host team, Argentina opens play in the Copa America Friday against Bolivia in La Plata, 60 kilometers southeast of Buenos Aires. Argentina is the favorite to win the South American championship, and also faces Colombia and Costa Rica in Group A.
