Thu, Dec 17, 2009 page18

• Argentine soccer hooligans getting savvy with politics

  • AP
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  Dozens of groups of soccer hooligans in Argentina are promising to clean up their act and end the violence that has been linked to some 150 deaths in and out of stadiums.

  However, there is a catch.

  These politically savvy hooligans are looking for government support, and hoping their campaign to end the intimidation and vandalism will lead to stipends for many to follow Argentina at the World Cup next year in South Africa.

  The effort is being organized by Marcelo Mallo, who campaigned for former Argentine president Nestor Kirchner, whose wife, Cristina, succeeded him as president two years ago.

  Mallo has formed Hinchadas Unidas Argentinas (Argentine Fans United), and filed papers to be recognized as a non-governmental organization, which could lead to some government aid.

  The political links are not disguised. At stadiums across the country, banners urging Kirchner to run again — “Come back Kirchner” or “Kirchner 2011” — also carry the initials HUA.

  NEIGHBORHOODS

  “HUA’s main objective is to get rid of violence at the stadiums,” Mallo explained in an interview. “If these groups can produce social leaders who work in the neighborhoods, tomorrow they can be tools the government has at its disposal. They could help win votes.”

  Sitting in Mallo’s office was a self-described hooligan named Emiliano, a supporter of Buenos Aires-based club Huracan. He sported a large tattoo on his left arm and repeated several times he’d nearly been killed in brawls with rival gangs. Another hooligan, who identified himself using only a rude nickname, showed off a scar on his right leg, the remnant of a gunshot wound, he said.

  “The new generation is working to make sure there are no more deaths,” Emiliano said. “We want the hooligan groups to get along.”

  “Politicians throw chairs at each other in parliament, and nothing happens. We fight with each other and they say we are hooligans,” he said.

  Many are skeptical the hooligans can be tamed.

  NO FREE TRAVEL

  Reports suggest about 300 members of hooligan groups are planning to travel to South Africa. Many do not have the US$7,000 needed to cover their costs, and a top government official said there will not be any free travel.

  “The government neither rewards, promotes nor finances trips,” said Pablo Paladino, undersecretary at the national department of Football Security.

  Though they may wish to go to South Africa, FIFA, soccer’s world-governing body, may try to keep them out. At the 2006 World Cup in Germany, many English hooligans had their passports confiscated by British authorities, which kept them from traveling to Germany.

  Argentine hooligans, like their counterparts in Europe, have thrived on intimidation. Their songs and chants cut them off from other fans, and when hundreds stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the heart of a stadium — waving flags, beating drums and shooting off fireworks — other fans learn to stay as far away as possible.

  FIGHTS

  Outside the stadium, they scalp tickets to finance themselves and prepare for an after-game brawl, taking on rivals with fists and knife fights that can injure innocent bystanders.

  Mariano Berjes, a former judge and one of the founders of the Argentine group “Let’s Save Football,” opposes the hooligan alliance and accuses it of working a deal with the government.

  “One has to seriously suspect ties, collusion and financing that is linked to the highest rungs of power,” Berjes said.

  “If being in one of these hooligan groups allows for the chance of free travel to South Africa, tomorrow many may want to follow this violent path to get privilege,” he said.
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