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Soccer-Argentine championship match halted due to crowd trouble

Aug 30 (Reuters) - The Argentine championship match between Godoy Cruz and Racing Club in Mendoza was abandoned after 25 minutes on Sunday because of crowd trouble. Godoy Cruz fans threw stones and other objects onto the pitch when the home side, who were trailing 1-0 at the time, were about to take a corner at the Malvinas Argentinas stadium. "The match was suspended because they wouldn't stop throwing stones," referee German Delfino told reporters. "There's no way of controlling the crowd in the stands. "The police said hooligans caused a lot of damage in the toilets and were also throwing tiles." Racing had taken the lead in the third minute with a controversial penalty converted by captain Diego Milito after Washington Camacho had gone down in the box. "We can put on the best security operations but if 10 people want to throw stones at you, you get your match suspended," Godoy Cruz President Jose Mazur said. The Argentine FA will decide at its weekly board meeting when the remaining 65 minutes should be played, probably behind closed doors. San Lorenzo were held 0-0 at home by Banfield and are now in second place two points behind leaders Boca Juniors, who won 2-1 at Gimnasia on Saturday. There was a standing ovation at the Nuevo Gasometro for Saints' goalkeeper Sebastian Torrico, whose newborn son died during the week. Fans at other matches also showed banners in support of the goalkeeper. San Lorenzo defender Emmanuel Mas, called up in midweek to the Argentina team for the first time, was shown a straight red card in the 83rd minute for catching Banfield's Gonzalo Bettini in the neck with his boot in a high tackle. River Plate were held 1-1 at home by Huracan and have now gone three league matches without a win since lifting their third Libertadores Cup. (Reporting by Rex Gowar; Editing by Peter Rutherford)