River-Boca will be played at the Berbaneu on 9 December. But River appeals

After much anticipation, the official venue has finally arrived: the return match of the final of Copa Libertadores River-Boca will be played at the stadium Santiago Bernabeu by Madrid. After the riots outside the Monumental in Buenos Aires, the Conmebol disciplinary tribunal decided to play in the Spanish capital.

Many bids had arrived, from all parts of the world, to host the decisive match of the South American Champions League correspondent: Genoa, Asuncion (Paraguay), Doha (Qatar), Belo Horizonte (Brazil), Miami (USA).

And so, in just six months Madrid will be the venue for the two most important club football events: besides River-BocaIn fact, on 1 June 2019 it will host the Wanda Metropolitanohome of Atletico Madrid, the final of Champions League.

The BernabeuIt will also be the only stadium to have had the honour of hosting World Cup, European Championship, Intercontinental, Champions, Uefa and Copa Libertadores finals.

Unlike the final at the Monumental, at the Santiago Bernabeu both supporters will be present.

Why Madrid for River-Boca?

Despite many bids to host the second act of this final, including a million-dollar bid from Qatar (€14 million), the choice fell on Madrid both because of the excellent relations between the president of Real Florentino Perez and the presidents of River and Boca, as well as the large Argentinean community (71,000 people) present in Spain. Also influencing the choice of Madrid were the many direct flights between the Spanish city and Buenos Aires, the language issue, and Florentino Perez's offer to hand over the stadium for free, with the approval also of the main sponsor, Banco Santander.

However, in a note that appeared on its official Twitter profile, River announced its appeal against this decision: 'River Plate will present its legal arguments and appeals regarding the decision taken by the South American football confederation (Conmebol) regarding the change of venue ordered for the Copa Libertadores final, the financial penalty and the closure of the stadium for two matches“.