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Police in Atlanta have been made aware of the history between England and Argentina – and are gearing up for a complex operation ahead of Wednesday night’s huge World Cup semi-final in the city.
Officers are expecting a 50-50 split of fans of both nations and are aware of the prospect of increased tensions thanks to relations between the countries.
Both the Falklands War and the infamous 1986 Hand of God will form part of planning in what may well prove to be a logistical nightmare. While each association gets its own allocation of tickets from FIFA, predominantly at opposite ends of the stadium, there has been little segregation at matches via FIFA rules.
Indeed, videos have already circulated online of minor disturbances between Argentina and England fans on Saturday. In one, a Three Lions supporter is seen in the stadium trading punches with three men in Argentina shirts, while another clip appeared to show a group of Argentina-shirted followers confronting England fans in a bar.
According to officials, England’s supporters have behaved impeccably throughout the tournament so far, with local police pointing out that they have to deal with more trouble at NFL matches.
There is a huge Argentinian diaspora in the US, especially in Florida, and many are expected to head to Atlanta ahead of the game. On England’s last visit, for their 2-1 victory over DR Congo, fans tended to congregate in bars close to the stadium with their opponents bringing a tiny following.
Police in Atlanta are readying an intense security operation for England’s clash with Argentina
They have been made aware of the history between the two countries ahead of the World Cup semi-final game
Argentina’s fans and players have continuously referenced the Falklands in a popular chant, and have faced no action from FIFA. In 1982, the country invaded the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic to trigger a war which ended in Britain reclaiming its overseas territory following the loss of 907 lives.
In 1986, Argentina defeated England 2-1 in a Mexico World Cup quarter-final, when Diego Maradona scored the infamous ‘Hand of God’ goal when he punched the ball past Peter Shilton.
A small team from the UK Football Policing Unit is in the US, will be on the ground in Atlanta and has been successfully liaising with local law enforcement agencies.
In keeping with the rest of the tournament just four arrests were made around the England versus Norway game. One was for trying to gain entry without a ticket, one was a fan who refused to leave when asked to do so and two were around a disturbance between two England fans. Police have again praised the behaviour of an estimated 30,000 who supported the Three Lions at the game.
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