It has been a common sight at FIFA World Cup games: huge lines of fans buying beer inside stadiums before returning home with stacks of empty souvenir cups in their hands.
A top FIFA official expressed concern at the amount of drinking during the month-long tournament, seemingly ignoring that it was soccer’s world governing body that forced Brazil to change its laws to allow beer sales at stadiums.
Despite the concerns, beer is expected to continue to flow unimpeded during the two semi-final games, Brazil-Germany yesterday and Argentina-Netherlands today.
Brasilia banned alcohol at games in 2003 to curb fan violence, but had to pass a special law authorizing booze at the World Cup as part of its agreement to host the tournament.
In the corridors of the 12 World Cup arenas, fans line up to buy US-made Budweiser or the local Brahma brand, both owned by Belgian-Brazilian giant Anheuser-Busch InBev, a major sponsor of the event.
Many fans have streamed out of stadiums with handfuls of the 473 milliliter commemorative cups in their hands, having paid 13 reals (US$6) for a Budweiser, or 10 reals for a Brahma, and the cups have become hot items for sale online.
As supporters pour beer into their mouths — and revenue into Anheuser-Busch’s pockets — there have been reports of heated arguments, including a brawl, during two games at Rio de Janeiro’s Maracana involving supporters who had apparently consumed alcohol.
At the Uruguay-Colombia last-16 game on June 28, several Brazilian fans traded blows with Uruguay supporters in the stadium’s corridor.
The fight began after an apparently inebriated Brazilian man shouted in an Uruguayan woman’s the face, mocking her team’s loss, which made her drop her beer, prompting a countryman to come to her defense.
After the France’s quarter-final against Germany on Friday, security guards had to get between two men wearing jerseys of cross-town rivals Corinthians and Sao Paulo FC in the corridor of the Maracana.
The man in the Corinthians shirt was holding about eight empty cups in one hand and shouted “Come here” at the other, but guards were able to keep them separated.
During the game, security guards had to take positions between fans who were screaming at each other.
Some Brazilians are glad they can drink during World Cup games, but back the prohibition during domestic league games, saying that local fans can get violent.
“People don’t know how to drink with moderation,” said Carlos Franca, a 48-year-old Brazilian.
Diogo Albuquerque, a 33-year-old engineer bedecked in Brazil’s colors, said the difference with domestic matches is that “there’s a lot of security” at World Cup games.
FIFA Secretary-General Jerome Valcke last week said he was “struck and worried by the level of drunkenness of many supporters who do not behave well.”
He said consumption controls may be imposed, but no such measures seem to have been ordered.
Anheuser-Busch spokeswoman Daiana Rodriguez told reporters that beer would continue to be sold normally because FIFA has not required controls.
“This [control] would depend on FIFA,” she said, adding that the brewer “will continue selling beer until the last game.”
Another spokeswoman said the beer maker provided “responsible server training” for stadium staff.
The company could not provide World Cup sales figures, but the cups have become hot collector items on online markets.
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set