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An Argentine soccer fan plays a vuvuzela as he waits to see the bus carrying the squad to board a plane for Belo Horizonte to participate in the 2014 Brazil World Cup, in Buenos Aires June 9, 2014. (REUTERS)
More than 2000 Argentine hooligans will be prevented from entering Brazil ahead of the World Cup because they are considered to be violent, Brazil's Interpol chief told AFP.
The 2,100 'barra bravas' hooligans are already the subject of banning orders from attending domestic matches in their own country.
"The Argentine authorities have given us a basis of information and these fans will be identified and prevented from entering," said Luiz Eduardo Navajas.
"If they manage to get past the controls and are found in Brazil, they will be deported."
Navajas said he had no worries about European hooligans disrupting the tournament as they are already banned from travelling to Brazil.
"They're banned from leaving their countries. Their passports have already been confiscated and cannot enter Brazil. We're working with England, Belgium and Germany," added Navajas.
As well as the 'barra bravas', anyone who has been found guilty of a sex crime, such as paedophilia and rape, will be prevented from entering the country during the World Cup, added Navajas.
"I don't care what they call these people. Brazilian police, in cooperation with foreign police, will be tough in responding to anyone who comes here to commit crimes," said Andrei Rodrigues, Brazil's security chief for the World Cup.
More than 50,000 Argentine fans are expected to come to Brazil for the World Cup, many driving across the border in cars and buses.
Brazil's government already faces the threat of street protests by Brazilians opposed to the high cost of hosting the tournament. Massive demonstrations broke out last year during a warm-up for the World Cup and have continued on a smaller scale, sometimes with violence.
Although deadly incidents are rare at World Cups, Argentine barras bravas have a history of violence, from stabbing English fans in Mexico in 1986 to fighting each other during the last tournament in South Africa four years ago.
Like fans from all over, many Argentines were unable to secure tickets to World Cup games and will be milling around outside the stadiums. That could spell trouble if the barras bravas run into local fan groups, or "torcidas," which are blamed for growing violence plaguing Brazilian soccer.
A record 30 people died in soccer-related violence last year in Brazil, the highest in the world after Argentina and Italy, according to data compiled by Brazilian researcher Mauricio Murad.
ENGLAND VS ARGENTINA
"There will be a lot of torcida youths angry that expensive tickets left them outside the stadiums. If they encounter Argentine barras bravas you could easily have clashes," said Rafael Alcadipani, a professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation who has studied the protests around the World Cup.
"It is a very dangerous mix. The risk of violence is imminent at this World Cup."
Like Argentina's barras bravas, some of Brazil's torcidas are believed to be linked to organized crime that uses them to distribute drugs and arms in slums of large cities such as Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.
Brazilian police are also worried that Argentine barras bravas could clash with English fans in the city of Belo Horizonte where the teams will play only three days apart.
These teams have long had one of the sport's fiercest rivalries, fueled by the Falklands war of 1982 and Diego Maradona's notorious 'Hand of God' goal that helped oust England from the 1986 Cup.
This time, England and Argentina will only face each other if they reach the final.
"We are aware of the history between the two countries and cannot ignore the risk of clashes between English and Argentine fans," said Alberto Luiz Alves, spokesman for Minas Gerais state police, which expects 1,500 barras bravas to reach the city.
This time around, English hooligans pose less of a threat due to the distance and cost of flying to Brazil, plus tough British laws that allow authorities to stop known troublemakers from leaving the country.
Brazil hopes to stop barras bravas at the border using a list with more than 2,000 names of violent hooligans provided by the Argentine government. That will be the first line of defence against violent fans, Rodrigues told Reuters at the brand new national control center with wall-to-wall screens linked to cameras in all 12 host cities.
Brazil also plans to deploy 157,000 police and troops to secure borders and maintain order around stadiums.
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