La Paz (Bolivia), Aug 21 (IANS): The manager of Bolivia's popular football team 'The Strongest' said they were confident that South America's regional football body would hand down a "moderate" fine for fan violence during an Aug 7 match against Paraguay's Nacional.

Fans at the Hernando Siles Stadium here, where the two teams were competing in a South American Cup game, pelted the referees with plastic bottles, batteries, fruit and other objects after Bolivian club's players blamed Uruguayan referee Fernando Falce for the team's loss, reports Xinhua.

Freddy Tellez, secretary of the club, Tuesday said the team expects a "fair and moderate" sanction from the Conmebol (South American Football Confederation), because there had been no physical attacks.

Tellez said he regretted the incident, but maintained that the team disagrees with the referee's decision to disregard two goals, effectively eliminating the Bolivian club from the cup.

"We are a professional club that will act within that parameter. After all, the only thing we can affirm is that we do not share the referee's appraisal, neither in his report and even less in his performance," Tellez said.