Boca Juniors Close in on Third Argentine Title in a Row

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) -- Boca Juniors can win a tarnished Argentine championship and claim the title for the third time in a row if they beat Belgrano away on Sunday.

Boca, which has 44 points from 17 games, goes into the match four points clear of Diego Simeone's Estudiantes with two matches each to play as it attempts to wrap up one of the most chaotic tournaments in Argentine history.

Crowd violence and intimidation have played havoc with the competition, recently described by River Plate coach Daniel Passarella as a disgrace. The competition has seen three matches suspended by rioting fans while the Gimnasia-La Plata vs. Boca match was abandoned at halftime on Sept 10. after the referee said he had been threatened in his dressing-room by the home club's president.

Gimnasia was winning 1-0 at the time but, when the second half was played nearly two months later, capitulated and lost 4-1. The following day, public prosecutors announced an investigation into allegations that Gimnasia's own supporters had threatened the players beforehand demanding they lose the game to damage the title chances of Estudiantes, their bitter local rivals.

There was more trouble two weeks ago when the Racing Club-San Lorenzo match was called off after fans of both teams blocked the team buses in protest at a decision to play behind closed doors. Three days later, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) reversed a decision banning away fans from all games for the rest of the season. The ugly backdrop has taken the gloss off what otherwise might have been an enthralling duel between the Boca team which Ricardo La Volpe inherited from Alfio Basile and Simeone's upstarts.

Inpsired by former Lazio and Manchester United midfielder Juan Sebastian Veron, Estudiantes have won their last 10 matches pushing the country's most popular club all the way. Boca made a flying start under Basile, who left in September to take charge of the Argentine national team, but faltered following the signing of La Volpe amid reports the players disliked the former Mexico coach's training methods.

However, after losing 3-1 to archrival River Plate, Boca's only defeat of the campaign, it regained its momentum and has so far managed to fend off Estudiantes, who visit Argentinos Juniors on Sunday. "It's incredible that, with the number of points we've won, we might not finish as champions," said Veron.

Simeone, who during his playing days was described as playing with a knife between his teeth, has refused to throw in the towel. "To consider that Boca are already champions is disrespectful to the Belgrano players," said the former Argentina captain, joint holder of the country's caps record of 106.