SASIC: Guns, Drugs, and Futbol

Ready for a fight

BG’s wasting no time getting stuck in. He’s the Karl Henry to our inactivity.

They have different names around the world: Hooligans, Ultras, Tifosi. Many clubs have organized groups of hardcore fans who show up for games and occasionally get into trouble with the authorities and sometimes, violence breaks out.

In Argentina, they’re called Barras Bravas (roughly translated: “the wild groups”). Lately, the power of the Barras Bravas in Argentine soccer has been on the rise. In a struggle for power and money, violent internal conflicts that erupt in the streets before and after matches have made it nearly impossible for the average fan to feel safe going to the stadium.

Earlier this week, at a meeting to approve a deficit-laden budget, Independiente’s president, Julio Comparada, employed the “services” of the Barra Brava to patrol the hallways of the club’s headquarters to ensure the opposition couldn’t vote against it. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

At Estudiantes de La Plata, there are three groups battling for supremacy: Los Leales (“the Loyalists”), run by Adrian “El Gato” Socio (all these dudes have awesome nicknames), La Banda del Rancho (“The Ranch Gang”), and a third group run by the former boss of the Leales known as “El Hache” (um, the H).

Since 2006, these groups have engaged in dozens of street battles, leaving two dead. Los Leales even count police officers among their numbers, as seen in a recently published photo (below). The general feeling in La Plata is that the violence will continue unabated.

Cops bringing guns to a fist fight

In Rosario, a group within the Newell’s Old Boys barra is attempting to unseat their current boss, Diego “El Panadero” Ochoa (“the Baker”), because he recently tried to stop them from dealing drugs in the stands.

Several members of the barra, including Sergio “El Quemado” Rodriguez (“The Burnt Guy”) and Gabriel “Virus” Sottomano, are alleged to be the kingpins of Rosario’s illegal narcotics trade.

In a rare move, club officials banned 97 members of the barra from entering the stadium at the next match, but this only served to delay what most say is an inevitable civil war in the stands.

In the Buenos Aires neighborhood of Liniers, Marquitos (“Little Mark”), was deposed as head of the Velez Sarsfield barra after he got into a fight with South African police at the World Cup.

Marquitos tried to regain his throne in a bloody battle in the streets of Liniers after a match against Banfield, but he was defeated, and has since been banned from all stadiums in Argentina by the government agency in charge of security at soccer matches, known as the “Subsef”. If you haven’t figured it out by now, the Subsef isn’t exactly doing a good job.

So, next time you’re thinking about planning that fun soccer tourism trip to see the Superclásico (Boca Jrs v. River Plate) at La Bombonera, make sure you know what you’re doing.