Chile police turn water cannon on fans

SANTIAGO, Nov 30 (Reuters) Police used water cannon to disperse thousands of angry Colo Colo supporters who had missed out on a chance to buy tickets for the final of the Copa Sudamericana.

Some 7,000 fans waited for hours outside the club's stadium in the Chilean capital but when tickets went on sale, they were snapped up in less than an hour leaving some fans disappointed.

They refused to leave, prompting police to use water cannon.

One fan was injured when he fell in front of a moving car during the chaos, a Reuters photographer at the stadium said yesterday.

''I've been waiting here since eight in the morning, only to be told that the ticket office is closed,'' said Genoveva Castillo, a housewife who said she wanted to buy six tickets for her children. ''They knew this would happen.'' The fans were looking for tickets to the second leg of the final of the Copa, the region's equivalent of the UEFA Cup.

Colo Colo, the first Chilean team to make a regional final in 13 years, take on Mexico's Pachuca in the first leg in Mexico on Thursday before hosting the return on December 13.

REUTERS SBA BST0528