argentina soccer violence - inside sport

8/14/2019 Argentina Soccer Violence - Inside Sport

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The first show of strength on the

terraces at Club Atltico Independientes

stadium in Buenos Aires occurs less than

ten minutes into the first half. Hundreds of

mainly bare-chested flag bearers from visiting

club Racing part the thick crowd in theirsegregated section and take position squarely

behind the goalkeeper.

The view is already impeded by two massive

wire fences. Now, its almost completely

blocked by their flags. On these terraces,

however, no-one dares to complain. The flag

bearers are organised by fan groups with a

remarkable penchant for nasty violence,

FUELLED BY DRINK, DRUGS AND

GOOD OLD-FASHIONED FANATICISM,

ARGENTINAS HOOLIGANS ARE FOOTBALLS

WORLD CHAMPION HARD MEN

BY EJ CARTLEDGE

intimidation, drug use and petty crime.

The groups are known collectively as the

barras bravas, the tough crowds, and their

flag-waving spectacle does not go unnoticed.

Pressed to respond, the Independiente fans

rise and roar. Thousands of balloons arereleased and flags are waved wildly above

heads. The incessant noise is incredible. As it

reaches a crescendo, the stadium is a sea

of red and blue as 40,000 fans dementedly

jump around.

Separated by a deep trench, the

Independiente fans pause to hold up Racing

dolls, soft-toy football mascots for children,

and then plant them to their crotches before

thrusting obscenely. Dozens of Racing fans

stand on concrete barriers and gesticulate

toward their nearest counterparts, drawing

their fingers across their throats in a cutting

motion. In the trench, between the rivalgroups, stands a row of stationary policemen.

Somewhere beyond them all, theres a game

of football going on.

The madness actually started much earlier.

The fans gathered before kick-off in the tunnel

beneath the stands. There, in almost demonic

scenes, thousands of screaming, stomping,

and frenzied young men whipped themselves

into hysteria. The noise was deafening

as they pounded and kicked metal

doors, blew whistles, chanted

obscenities and generally jumped all

over each other.

The local derby between Racing and

Independiente is regarded as a classic

on the Argentine football calendar.

92 www.insidesport .com.au

The two clubs compete in the highest division,

attract legions of passionate fans and have

stadiums less than 300m apart.

The Argentina Football Association needs

legions of riot police to keep the fans apart.

There have been multiple shooting incidents

at the derby fixtures in recent years, and

police have responded with clubs, tear gas

and rubber bullets.

The worst violence on record flared two

years ago. One eyewitness described the

fighting: People were running around like

mad all over the place. There were shots fired

and people with knives. One fan died on that

occasion after being shot in the chest. Another

was paralysed for life by a bullet that ripped

through his spine. Twelve others were

hospitalised with gunshot wounds.

Back in the stadium, the second show of

strength is as unexpected as it is

brutal. Just as the scoreboard

flashes the message No a la

violencia! (Stop the violence!),

and shortly after the impressiveentry of the barras bravas, all hell

breaks loose.

Perhaps its about turf, perhaps it

is due to an old rivalry, but theres

no time for pointless hypothesising.

Incredibly, Racing fans have

started fighting other Racing fans.

In a blur of blue, punches and

kicks fly in all directions. Some

connect. Just five metres in front of

Inside Sport, a fat, long-haired fan

is king-hit and laid out, his head smacki

the concrete with a sickening thud

assailant vanishes back into the crowd.

Next to him, a shirtless young man sp

multiple tattoos is set upon by three

and kicked as he falls. Daring hands rea

to pluck him to safety just before one

attackers kicks viciously with his foot, na

missing the already bloodied youths fa

The violence only takes seconds to s

Wild-eyed men dart out from the surroucrowd to lay into unsuspecting observ

womans glasses go flying as shes c

into. She collapses and tries to crawl be

the brawlers. Several fathers quickly hoi

children clear of the melee. A m

madman in a sleeveless T-shirt is wadin

the fight, grinning and swinging as he

Instinctively, the crowd sucks in its brea

staggers drunkenly back up the terr

avoid the troublemakers. But packed

sardines, theres nowhere for us to go.

A

PEOPLE WERERUNNING AROUNDLIKE MAD ALLOVER THE PLACE.THERE WERE SHOTSFIRED AND PEOPLEWITH KNIVES

FAR LEFTAn Argentine fan snaps after one too manjokes about his gay Spice Girl shoes. ABOVE Penne another Hillsborough waiting to happen? BELOWBleeding hooligans ruin the game for the real fans

LEFT

PictureMedia/ReutersTOP

RIGHT

DanielGarcia

/AFP/GettyImagesRIGHT

AAP

/AP

LITTLE


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include: La 12 (The Twelfth Man) of Bo

Los Borrachos Del Tablon (The DrunksTerrace) of Bocas archenemy, River

Like their European counterparts, the

bravas liaise with rival gangs to a

pre- or post-game fights, usually by

phone. The elders source weapons,

members and generally call the

while the youths, invariably aged b

14 and 20, do their bidding.

The groups boast anywhere betwee

and 2000 members and sympathiser

their propensity for violence and ha

staggering. We have drawn even, sa

masked Boca fan after two River fan

murdered following a 2-0 win to Rive

Boca. As the local

Clarnobserved: The

alliances of war. An

write war without i

commas because ther

exaggeration in this c

In fact, we can evenof an armed war.

The host of the p

soccer show La Pelota

Mancha (The Ball D

Get Dirty By Itself

Buenos Aires radio,

Scioscia, believes its n

sport that divides Arg

We are an int

people. The divide

right through our h

My friends turn nervously, half-expecting to

be struck from behind. Perhaps reassuringly,

strangers at the back have their hands on our

shoulders. But there is the realisation that

theyre pushing upwards, just trying to escape

the trouble.

Several elders manage to get between the

brawling fans, talking to them and separating

the worst offenders. Spot fights continue, but

whatever the elders have said has immediate

effect. The tension is palpable, but the

madness is contained.

The unconscious youth is delicately gatheredup and carried out by friends; no-one else

appears to be seriously hurt. Several young

men are grinning as they examine the blood

on their knuckles. We hold our ground and

breathe deeply. Elsewhere in the stadium, the

LEFT

DiegoGiudice/AAP/APTOP

LEFT

AliBurafi/AF

P/GettyImagesTOP

RIGHT

DanielLuna/AAP/AP

violence has gone unnoticed. Though on our

terrace, no-one appears to be watching the

action on the pitch.

It occurs to me to look for the police. As

before, they are unmoved. They stand in their

trench with folded arms. Understandably, they

rarely enter the terraced sections for fear of

being attacked. This, of course, can lead to

other problems a 56-year-old man died last

September after suffering a heart attack at thegame between Ferrocarril Oeste and Nuevo

Chicago. He lay helpless for an hour without

treatment. Security forces finally acted after

supportive fans carried him out of the section.

Welcome to the world of Argentine football!

By the time the opening part of the season,

known as the apertura, has been completed,

there have already been numerous pitch

invasions and all-out brawls. The police have

made multiple arrests at numerous violent

clashes, at least one fan has been stabbed and

many others hospitalised. Several games have

been interrupted and various clubs barras

bravas have been conspicuous thanks to their

campaigns of intimidation.Despite renewed calls by state and soccer

bodies to end the rampant violence, the game

has again been dragged into disrepute. While

the authorities, media and even academics

pontificate over the problem, it appears such

discussions all end in abject failure. Violence

has become the norm.

Since the game turned professional in

Argentina in 1931, thuggery has been its

constant companion. Over 170 people, mostly

young men, have been killed since 1958.

And, if anything, the violence is getting worse.

The 1990s were a dreadful period, with 29

football-related fatalities recorded over the

decade. Yet almost half that number have died

in just the last two-and-a-half years. Incessant

rioting has wrought death, havoc and multiple

serious injuries.

Researchers point the finger at the countrys

deteriorating economic conditions. Lawmakersblame hooligan elements taken under the

wings of corrupt club directors. Players make

impassioned pleas for the personal threats to

cease some even pay protection money

to the barras bravas. And the fans themselves

CLOCKWISEFROM FAR LEFTBriggs takes the fight young, hard and hungry Jesus Ruiz in Sydne year, but Hurricane was harder; down goes Kelly at the Hordern Pavilion in June 03; Mcfailed to read the warning on Briggss trunks

always blame each other. As one Club Atltico

Newells Old Boys supporter said after intensefighting against River Plate fans in April 2003,

We didnt start anything. They came at us,

and I thought, They are going to kill us, or we

will kill them.

On that occasion, the worst incident in

years, eight busloads of River Plate supporters

heading north met six busloads of Newells

Old Boys fans coming the other way on the

Panamericana Highway. River was due to play

away against Rosario Central, some 300km

from Buenos Aires, and the Newells fans were

coming from Rosario to play Boca Juniors.

What occurred next, according to police

who arrived 30 minutes later, was a savage

pitched battle involving over 900 fans.

One man was killed after being

repeatedly stabbed, while another died

in hospital after being shot. Hundreds

were injured and arrested. Both matches

went ahead with the visitors sections

conspicuously empty.It is also common for fans to attack the

police (especially if their own team is losing)

or throw projectiles at opposition players from

the stands. The violence has been so serious

that on occasions during the 2002 and 2003

seasons, all national competitions were

postponed for up to two weeks at a time.

Across the country each club has its

own ardent barras bravas, promoting their

own blend of football fanaticism and extreme

violence. Each group is as happy to fight r ivals

within their own club as they are to bash other

teams supporters. The most infamous groups

INCESSANT RIOTINGHAS WROUGHTDEATH, HAVOCAND MULTIPLESERIOUS INJURIES

CLO

CKWISEFROMTOPLEFTIts like an Australia v NZ cricketone dayer out there; a trainee riot squad officer is aboutto learn the hard way which end of his rifle goes bang;16 drunken Argies sitting on a wall, and if one drunkenArgie should accidentally fall...; a soft fan pretending tobe hurt for sympathy; crowd control Colin Barnett style.

RIGHT


EnriqueGarciaMedina/PictureMedia/Reuters

94 www.insidesport .com.au


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CLO

CKWISEFROM TOPLEFTFanstearing down walls to cometogether in peace and harmony;jubilant fans celebrate theirteams victory with fireworks,confetti and shouts of Hooray!;fans desperately try to save theirfamily-size esky full of beersfrom the marauding thirsty louts.

RIGHT


LEFT

DanielLuna/

AAP/APTOP

RIGHT

CesarDeLuca/AAP

conservative versus liberal, Pernista versus

Radicl, River versus Boca.

Scioscia himself has been subjected to

insults, blows and kicks while travelling to

games and has even witnessed a shooting.

Its impossible to travel to a stadium in club

colours without objections, he says.

The new national minister of security,

Javier Castrilli, has promised to crack down on

the violent elements and banned visiting fans

from the Copa Libertadores fixtures between

River and Boca. Indeed, many of the

ringleaders from Bocas La 12 spent brief

periods of time behind bars in 2004. Three

were processed for further prosecution just

before last Christmas, with the judge lamenting

the association between the club and its

powerful hooligan element. The barras

bravas participated in the resale of tickets,

took trips paid for by the club, held a stock of weapons and organised aggression against

rivals, the judge said.

Despite such a damning public statement,

and a series of laws implemented by the

Argentine legislature and football authorities

designed to curb the influence of the barras

bravas, clubs have been reluctant to follow

suit. Many club directors rely on the voting

support of the fan groups to maintain their

prestigious positions. The barras bravas are

rewarded albeit less conspicuously now

CLOCKWISEFROM ABOVE They killed The King, soonly natural Antonio Tarver (LEFT) and Glen Jhad to meet. Briggs would like to meet bothon the heavy bag in Brisbane before taming Castro; top cats Shane ( LEFT) and Jack Mosley

with free tickets to

matches, or helped with

bail if arrested. As the

judgment last December

revealed, often the free

tickets are scalped, the

money lining the pockets

of the ringleaders.

Clubs are also often

genuinely afraid of their

strong-arm fan groups.

Many groups have links topolitical parties who use them for security or

demonstrative purposes. They also have

known ties with corrupt police. Bizarrely, they

are left relatively unhindered to seek access to

coaching and playing staff.

In a remarkable episode a week prior to the

deciding game of the championship in

December, a group of barras bravas aligned

with Independiente visited the squads training

session which was guarded and off limits to

other observers and warned the players not

to win their next match. Independiente was

due to meet Newells Old Boys, which n

one more win to claim the 2004 apertu

The barras bravas of Independiente

long-standing alliance with their count

of Newells and carried out the threat

favour. While most of the players

training session refused to speak to the

the leader of the barras bravas, known a

Peruvian, gave his own press confe

Chillingly, he announced: We do no

them to win against Newells becaus

there is a friendship of many years. I d

know what will happen if they win... th

many things in play. If they win on S

the pitch could become a meat market.

For the record, Newells went on to w

and take the title, but again opinion-m

could only voice disapproval in the face

flimsy explanations from club authorit

permitting this kind of stunt.What effect the violence has on real fo

fans differs markedly. Some are disguste

the danger, while others thrive in the ca

of hate-chants and passion for their team

I havent been to watch Racing since

says 34-year-old Rodrigo Vallero. Th

time I went, I had a knife put to my thr

I love it, says Malcolm van Steede

who has been watching Boca on the t

for ten years. It transforms me

I go crazy. He then adds seriously:

wouldnt take you there.

U T L I ' T I G G I E

argentina soccer violence - inside sport

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