Violent fans banned from entering Brazil for Copa America
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Soccer fans with a record of violence have been banned from Brazil as it prepares to stage the Copa America, Brazilian Justice Minister Sergio Moro said.
Immigration agents at international airports and land borders have been instructed to bar entry to people who are flagged as "members of fan clubs involved with violence in stadiums."
Brazil's Federal Police agency, which controls immigration, said its data system will be updated with a list of people associated with violent fan clubs, and it will alert border agents if they try to enter the country.
Authorities in Argentina, Brazil's southern neighbor and long-time soccer rival, will share their database of violent fans banned from Argentine stadiums with Brazilian authorities.
Brazil also banned fans with a known history of violence when the country staged the 2014 World Cup.
The ban for the Copa America starts immediately and will remain until the final on July 7.
The Copa America opens with Brazil facing Bolivia on June 14 in Sao Paulo.
