Rio de Janeiro, Jan 25 (IANS): Brazilian football club Flamengo will play their first two home matches of this year's Copa Libertadores behind closed doors as punishment for the unruly behavior of their fans.

South American football governing body CONMEBOL said on Wednesday that the penalty is related to incidents during and prior to last month's Copa Sudamericana final second leg in Rio de Janeiro, reports Xinhua news agency.

Argentina's Independiente, who won the decider 3-2 on aggregate, accused Flamengo supporters of instigating clashes with their supporters on the eve of the match.

Some 8,000 Flamengo supporters then invaded the Maracana stadium during the match and police said they were forced to use tear gas to prevent violence.

CONMEBOL's decision means Flamengo will host River Plate on February 28 and a still undetermined opponent on April 18, in an empty stadium.

Flamengo was also fined $300,000 for the disturbances.