Revista de Estudios Sociales

rev. estud. soc. | eISSN 1900-5180 | ISSN 0123-885X

Criminalization, Arbitrariness and Double Militancy: Police ans Violence in Argentine Soccer

No. 31 (2008-12-01)
  • Julián Gil Gastón
https://doi.org/10.7440/res31.2008.09

Abstract

Soccer matches are just one of many scenarios that are perceived to be insecure and violent in Argentine society. For more than thirty years, public opinion has defined them as an important social problem. And it has identified a specific social group, categorized as barras bravas, to be almost entirely responsible for "destroying the festivities [of the soccer matches] for everyone." In this way, the state agencies that formally exercise social control encourage this process of criminalization, which reduces the complexity of a phenomenon that goes beyond simple definitions or explanations. In this context, the police forces acquire a "parallel punitive power," themselves becoming key agents in the generation of violence in football stadiums. Far from fulfilling their supposed function of guaranteeing security, the police help create the violent atmosphere in which these fans identify it as the principal enemy to combat.

Keywords: Violence, Insecurity, soccer, Criminalization

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