Argentina bans visiting supporters amid escalating football violence

“I hope the spectators will forgive us” says José Luis Meiszner, one of the leaders of Argentinean Football Association (AFA), with regard to the drastic decision. “We hope it’s only for a year”.

Meiszner learned a lot of his directive skills from his master, AFA president and FIFA vice-president Julio Grondona.

In the current A Division league, only 50 percent of the stadiums’ places designated for visiting supporters will be occupied, to reduce the likelihood of a battle between radical supporters.

Tickets will not be sold at the stadium on match days, but during the week at the club box office, to prevent any other riots.

In the minor leagues, like B National Division, B Metropolitan and C Division, there will be no visiting supporters at all, the aim being to ensure no fights whatsoever take place between rival fans, especially on the streets around match venues. 

Recent violence leaves one murdered
In one of the last matches of the 2006/07 series, Nueva Chicago faced Tigre at home, both searching for a place in First Division. Afterwards, supporters of the home team waited outside to ambush the rival ones when Nueva Chicago lost the match.

Then, a Tigre supporter, Marcelo Cejas, 41 years old, was smashed in his head with a stone and died 40 minutes later. He was the 177th casualty in Argentinean football since 1939.

The killer has not been found yet. The Nueva Chicago facilities will be closed for the next 20 rounds and the club will suffer a 20-points penalty as a result of the incident. 

Violence endemic
Violence in Argentinean football is endemic. There were up to 1,000 security people in the most dangerous matches, but they still can’t find a way to stop riots in grandstands or streets.

Last year, the national security authority decide to punish San Lorenzo, the last Argentinean champion, by forcing them to play their match against Racing, one of the most cheered teams, without any public in the grandstands.

In protest, supporters of the two teams agreed to blockade the players’ buses at the player’s hotels, not allowing them to travel to the venue to play. The match was suspended.

So far this season, with one round of matches played, there have been no reported instances of violence outside stadiums. Whether this will continue remains to be seen.