Another football game had to be suspended in Argentina due to violent acts coming from the terraces.
This time it was a match between Estudiantes de La Plata and Banfield.
Estudiantes are playing their home games at the Quilmes stadium, which is 26 miles away from the City of La Plata.
Banfield, the town from where the visiting team comes from is only 12 miles away from Quilmes.
They had played 14 minutes and Banfield were leading 1-0 when from the home end of the stands, 2 firecrackers were thrown, and they landed very near the Banfield goalkeeper.
The referee spoke to the police. The official was told by the security forces, that they could not guarantee that no more firecrackers will be thrown onto the ground.
He then made his decision to suspend the game.
Estudiantes icon and captain Juan Sebastian Veron, together with Boselli (on loan from Wigan), and “la Gata” Fernandez approached the fans and exchange words of frustration and anger with the culprits.
Now you are in the picture, surely you will want to know what is going to happen.
The usual accusations from all sides were heard, blaming anyone but themselves.
The only one to come out with some dignity, was Veron. He did say things that he probably shouldn’t have to the fans, but when analysing the situation he actually admitted that the players (in general, not just the Estudiantes ones) had a huge responsibility for what had happened.
Experience in similar situations; indicate that Estudiantes will be punished with some kind of fine, maybe playing some home games in which only people who are members of the club can attend, etc.
But is this solving the problem?
Tackling football violence in Argentina should not be any different than anywhere else in the world, but the truth is, it is.
Many different factors play a part in this violence and on how to solve it.
I am going to arrange these reasons in separate groups and then explain each group individually, to simplify the complexity of the matter.
General Public:
To me the 2 words above encompass those who just genuinely support their team and go to the stadium to watch the game, sing, hope for a good spectacle and a favourable result.
I can imagine people being sceptical about me saying that part of the responsibility of the violence is Joe Bloggs and his children.
But the explanation is simple.
When they are in attendance, and suddenly violence erupts, instinct takes over and all Joe Bloggs wants to do, is get out of there sound and safe as soon as possible.
They then arrive back home and start telling their family what happened.
As the days go by, and fear wears off, they start telling working colleagues and school mates how they were at that game.
It is there that the “fan in them” comes out. And when sharing the experience that they had, they start bigging up the actions of the violent ones (called barras brava).
They tell everyone how everything happened, but there is a sense of pride and it is told with a smile and sometimes laughing.
It is a competition kind of thing; my team fans are better and stronger than yours.
I am not saying for a minute that Joe Bloggs and his family condone violence; in fact they are appalled by it. But they are talking to others about their beloved team and that club can’t be weak or do wrong in the eyes of others.
These words eventually get back to the barras bravas, and they in time feel even prouder of their actions, as they mistakenly think Joe Bloggs approves of what they have done.
To end this group, the following week, when their team plays again, and the barras enter the stadium (they always enter at the last minute carrying all the flags, instruments, etc) all the Joe Bloggs and their families, clap and sing with them.
Police:
The security forces have a difficult job. However with the experience they have from years and years of policing all kind of events, the least we can expect is that the organisational details of safety at a football match, comes automatically to them.
They know the fixtures in advance, they know stadia capacity, they know how many men they will require, etc.
To make things a little easier for them, the way the hooligans work is very organised and rather predictable (I ll explain that later on), and the vast majority of the violent individuals are known to them.
The issues with the police are that, although they have all the above to their advantage, they are really not interested in stopping the violence.
Each officer gets paid for one game, the same that they earn in a full week.
As we will see later as well, some police officers also like to get a cut on the barras activities, so it is not in their interest to get involved and do their job properly.
There are exceptions, and when they have acted as they should act, the law has backed them up by incarcerating the hooligans.
An example of not policing properly can be seen in last year’s relegation play off game between Belgrano de Cordoba and River Plate.
Ten River fans cut the fence, ran onto the pitch, and approached their players to shout at and insult them. Once their mission was finished, they returned to the stands, using the same hole they had made to get inside the field of play. Nobody was arrested or punished.
The police were stationed inside the pitch facing the crowd. How did they miss this episode?
Clubs ( it includes the Argentinean FA):
Well, where to start here. All clubs, and by that I mean all clubs know their own barras. They have lots of perks, because they can be “useful” to them.
When there are elections, the candidates need supporters, who better than the hooligans to do that, by singing for them and intimidating those that are against too.
What perks? Free membership to the club (that also gives them the right to vote), free tickets (which then they use to make money by selling them on the black market), they get some money (from players as well, but will touch on that later) in order to afford to travel to away games or to support Argentina in world cups.
They also come in handy when some players do not want to sign a new contract or to help put pressure on managers to resign.
It is known that the barras of Boca Juniors legally run the stadium parking facilities 7 days a week.
The club pays them for this job. On match day the parking area becomes a no go zone.
If anyone parking there decides not to pay for their car “protection”, it almost guarantees that that vehicle won’t be there by the end of the game.
Also fake club merchandise and drugs are sold by them in the car parks.
Many blame the police for not searching people on entering the ground, but these hooligans work there all week long and any firecrackers, weapons and projectiles, are already inside the stadium when they arrive on game day.
One club that is an example of a well run club in the country is Velez Sarsfield.
A former president received a complaint that some Barras were selling drugs inside the club’s bar. He called police and placed round the clock security in there.
Ten days later the same complaint arrived but not only involved the hooligans but the police were helping the barras sell the drugs.
Basically the barras get full access to anything to do with the clubs such as all the clubs facilities, they are welcome to attend the team’s training sessions, they are given jobs, etc. And they take full advantage of this.
For the record, the AFA (Argentinean FA) a few years ago made it compulsory for all clubs to buy and install security cameras in every stadium, this had to be from a particular company the FA had chosen. Only in one case they have been used to convict violence in football.
By the way, officially, the clubs deny knowing or having any links with the violent sectors of the fans.
I have many examples of collaboration and how it works, but it is impossible to cover it all in one blog.
The players (includes, Managers and referees)
They know them, they have been seen talking with them, they have given them money in order to travel to away games, or to go to World Cups to follow Argentina.
They also deny any links with them, however most retired players, and Managers will admit to have had contact with them, but are still unwilling to take these people to justice.
The Political parties and unions:
As the clubs do, the political parties and the unions need people supporting them, and they have the support of certain elements of these hooligans in exchange for immunity.
It is not unusual to see teams’ flags at marches or political rallies offering their support to the one that promises the most to them.
The media:
Mainly for the same reasons as most of the above people involved. We know who the barras are, we could identify them if required.
But when one of the “bosses” of the Boca Juniors barras was released from prison, he got a very long interview on one of the public T.V channels, where most of the questions were leading him to show and tell of the injustice it was committed against him.
The gentleman in question had just finished a 5 year period, for an attack against rival hooligans inside the stadium, caught on security cameras (this was the only case mentioned earlier).
The Barras Bravas:
They obviously have the responsibility of being the violent ones themselves, the ones that commit all the atrocities and crimes that ruin football in the country.
But as you have read here, theirs is not a “one day a week job”. It is not just turning up causing a fight and go home.
The violence during a football match is the result of carefully planned tactics and strategies they sort out during the week.
There are hierarchies and ranks and each have their particular role to play.
Each person knows where they are going to be, where the others are going to be. They have attacking plans if they are going to fight against fans of other teams, but there are also defensive plans as well.
Nothing is left to chance. Every angle is covered.
They act with impunity, because they are protected by all of the above.
My idea to solve the problem is to sit the AFA, Police, Clubs, Media, Players, Referees, Managers and politicians and draw up new laws, and explain in simple terms how are they going to be applied.
They must be transparent, strict, and fair.
To restore order all perks must be stopped, all cover ups must be stopped, all lenience must be stopped, and maximum penalties must be given every time there is a violation of the agreed rules.
Let’s get together and put an end to the biggest single problem we still have in our favourite game.
This time it was a match between Estudiantes de La Plata and Banfield.
Estudiantes are playing their home games at the Quilmes stadium, which is 26 miles away from the City of La Plata.
Banfield, the town from where the visiting team comes from is only 12 miles away from Quilmes.
They had played 14 minutes and Banfield were leading 1-0 when from the home end of the stands, 2 firecrackers were thrown, and they landed very near the Banfield goalkeeper.
The referee spoke to the police. The official was told by the security forces, that they could not guarantee that no more firecrackers will be thrown onto the ground.
He then made his decision to suspend the game.
Estudiantes icon and captain Juan Sebastian Veron, together with Boselli (on loan from Wigan), and “la Gata” Fernandez approached the fans and exchange words of frustration and anger with the culprits.
Now you are in the picture, surely you will want to know what is going to happen.
The usual accusations from all sides were heard, blaming anyone but themselves.
The only one to come out with some dignity, was Veron. He did say things that he probably shouldn’t have to the fans, but when analysing the situation he actually admitted that the players (in general, not just the Estudiantes ones) had a huge responsibility for what had happened.
Experience in similar situations; indicate that Estudiantes will be punished with some kind of fine, maybe playing some home games in which only people who are members of the club can attend, etc.
But is this solving the problem?
Tackling football violence in Argentina should not be any different than anywhere else in the world, but the truth is, it is.
Many different factors play a part in this violence and on how to solve it.
I am going to arrange these reasons in separate groups and then explain each group individually, to simplify the complexity of the matter.
General Public:
To me the 2 words above encompass those who just genuinely support their team and go to the stadium to watch the game, sing, hope for a good spectacle and a favourable result.
I can imagine people being sceptical about me saying that part of the responsibility of the violence is Joe Bloggs and his children.
But the explanation is simple.
When they are in attendance, and suddenly violence erupts, instinct takes over and all Joe Bloggs wants to do, is get out of there sound and safe as soon as possible.
They then arrive back home and start telling their family what happened.
As the days go by, and fear wears off, they start telling working colleagues and school mates how they were at that game.
It is there that the “fan in them” comes out. And when sharing the experience that they had, they start bigging up the actions of the violent ones (called barras brava).
They tell everyone how everything happened, but there is a sense of pride and it is told with a smile and sometimes laughing.
It is a competition kind of thing; my team fans are better and stronger than yours.
I am not saying for a minute that Joe Bloggs and his family condone violence; in fact they are appalled by it. But they are talking to others about their beloved team and that club can’t be weak or do wrong in the eyes of others.
These words eventually get back to the barras bravas, and they in time feel even prouder of their actions, as they mistakenly think Joe Bloggs approves of what they have done.
To end this group, the following week, when their team plays again, and the barras enter the stadium (they always enter at the last minute carrying all the flags, instruments, etc) all the Joe Bloggs and their families, clap and sing with them.
Police:
The security forces have a difficult job. However with the experience they have from years and years of policing all kind of events, the least we can expect is that the organisational details of safety at a football match, comes automatically to them.
They know the fixtures in advance, they know stadia capacity, they know how many men they will require, etc.
To make things a little easier for them, the way the hooligans work is very organised and rather predictable (I ll explain that later on), and the vast majority of the violent individuals are known to them.
The issues with the police are that, although they have all the above to their advantage, they are really not interested in stopping the violence.
Each officer gets paid for one game, the same that they earn in a full week.
As we will see later as well, some police officers also like to get a cut on the barras activities, so it is not in their interest to get involved and do their job properly.
There are exceptions, and when they have acted as they should act, the law has backed them up by incarcerating the hooligans.
An example of not policing properly can be seen in last year’s relegation play off game between Belgrano de Cordoba and River Plate.
Ten River fans cut the fence, ran onto the pitch, and approached their players to shout at and insult them. Once their mission was finished, they returned to the stands, using the same hole they had made to get inside the field of play. Nobody was arrested or punished.
The police were stationed inside the pitch facing the crowd. How did they miss this episode?
Clubs ( it includes the Argentinean FA):
Well, where to start here. All clubs, and by that I mean all clubs know their own barras. They have lots of perks, because they can be “useful” to them.
When there are elections, the candidates need supporters, who better than the hooligans to do that, by singing for them and intimidating those that are against too.
What perks? Free membership to the club (that also gives them the right to vote), free tickets (which then they use to make money by selling them on the black market), they get some money (from players as well, but will touch on that later) in order to afford to travel to away games or to support Argentina in world cups.
They also come in handy when some players do not want to sign a new contract or to help put pressure on managers to resign.
It is known that the barras of Boca Juniors legally run the stadium parking facilities 7 days a week.
The club pays them for this job. On match day the parking area becomes a no go zone.
If anyone parking there decides not to pay for their car “protection”, it almost guarantees that that vehicle won’t be there by the end of the game.
Also fake club merchandise and drugs are sold by them in the car parks.
Many blame the police for not searching people on entering the ground, but these hooligans work there all week long and any firecrackers, weapons and projectiles, are already inside the stadium when they arrive on game day.
One club that is an example of a well run club in the country is Velez Sarsfield.
A former president received a complaint that some Barras were selling drugs inside the club’s bar. He called police and placed round the clock security in there.
Ten days later the same complaint arrived but not only involved the hooligans but the police were helping the barras sell the drugs.
Basically the barras get full access to anything to do with the clubs such as all the clubs facilities, they are welcome to attend the team’s training sessions, they are given jobs, etc. And they take full advantage of this.
For the record, the AFA (Argentinean FA) a few years ago made it compulsory for all clubs to buy and install security cameras in every stadium, this had to be from a particular company the FA had chosen. Only in one case they have been used to convict violence in football.
By the way, officially, the clubs deny knowing or having any links with the violent sectors of the fans.
I have many examples of collaboration and how it works, but it is impossible to cover it all in one blog.
The players (includes, Managers and referees)
They know them, they have been seen talking with them, they have given them money in order to travel to away games, or to go to World Cups to follow Argentina.
They also deny any links with them, however most retired players, and Managers will admit to have had contact with them, but are still unwilling to take these people to justice.
The Political parties and unions:
As the clubs do, the political parties and the unions need people supporting them, and they have the support of certain elements of these hooligans in exchange for immunity.
It is not unusual to see teams’ flags at marches or political rallies offering their support to the one that promises the most to them.
The media:
Mainly for the same reasons as most of the above people involved. We know who the barras are, we could identify them if required.
But when one of the “bosses” of the Boca Juniors barras was released from prison, he got a very long interview on one of the public T.V channels, where most of the questions were leading him to show and tell of the injustice it was committed against him.
The gentleman in question had just finished a 5 year period, for an attack against rival hooligans inside the stadium, caught on security cameras (this was the only case mentioned earlier).
The Barras Bravas:
They obviously have the responsibility of being the violent ones themselves, the ones that commit all the atrocities and crimes that ruin football in the country.
But as you have read here, theirs is not a “one day a week job”. It is not just turning up causing a fight and go home.
The violence during a football match is the result of carefully planned tactics and strategies they sort out during the week.
There are hierarchies and ranks and each have their particular role to play.
Each person knows where they are going to be, where the others are going to be. They have attacking plans if they are going to fight against fans of other teams, but there are also defensive plans as well.
Nothing is left to chance. Every angle is covered.
They act with impunity, because they are protected by all of the above.
My idea to solve the problem is to sit the AFA, Police, Clubs, Media, Players, Referees, Managers and politicians and draw up new laws, and explain in simple terms how are they going to be applied.
They must be transparent, strict, and fair.
To restore order all perks must be stopped, all cover ups must be stopped, all lenience must be stopped, and maximum penalties must be given every time there is a violation of the agreed rules.
Let’s get together and put an end to the biggest single problem we still have in our favourite game.