Mexico's football authorities (FMF) have announced that Queretaro will be forced to play home games behind closed doors for one year and its owners are obliged to put the Liga MX club up for sale following Saturday's shocking bloody fan riot that left 26 people injured.

After an urgent meeting on Tuesday, the FMF also said that Queretaro's hard-core fan club "barra" will be banned from attending games for three years. The team's current administrators, moreover, have been disqualified from any footballing activities for five years and will be fined 1.5 million pesos ($70,450).

"We gave the clubs the right to a hearing. We heard testimonies from stewards and others involved. From the evidence collected, it was proven that there were omissions by the private security company, police officers and Club Queretaro, which was responsible for hiring them," FMF president Yon De Luisa told a press conference.

"I have been in communication with the presidency of FIFA and CONCACAF. Both organizations condemned the events, but expressed their support," added Yon De Luisa, who charged Queretaro's owners with "putting the lives of many at risk and damaging the image of the state of Queretaro, its people, the club and Mexican football."

Saturday's game between hosts Queretaro and defending champions Atlas was suspended mid-game after violent fights broke out in the stands at the Corregidora Stadium in Queretaro. Fans attacked one another with chairs, metal bars, fists and feet, with Queretaro governor Mauricio Kuri confirming as many as 26 people were hospitalized, three in critical condition.

Graphic footage shared online shows some bloodied fans lying motionless on the stadium's stands, with multiple Mexican media outlets revealing that at least 17 people had died. But the local government continued to insist that there were no fatalities.

Mexican newspaper El Universal has called the horrifying riot "the darkest day for Mexican football." Football's world governing body FIFA described it as "barbaric" and encouraged authorities to bring "swift justice to those responsible." 

Mikel Arriola, president of Mexico's Liga MX, said that the match will be recorded as a 3-0 Atlas win and anyone found guilty of participating in the violence will be banned from all stadiums in Mexico for life. Earlier on Tuesday, Queretaro's state department confirmed that 14 arrests had been made on potential charges that include violence in a sporting event and attempted homicide.

To prevent a similar riot in the future, measures have been introduced that will be in place throughout the Mexican football leagues.

State, local and municipal police will now provide security for Liga MX, as opposed to the private companies often used at topflight games, and all visiting supporters' groups will be prohibited from attending away matches.

In addition, facial recognition systems that identify members of fans groups will be required in all stadiums for the 2022-23 season.