Fans banned from Brazil World Cup venue

Corinthians supporters

Rio de Janeiro, Aug 29 (IANS) Two notorious Brazilian fan groups have been given a two-year ban from attending matches at Brasilia’s Mane Garrincha 2014 World Cup stadium.

The government of Brazil’s Federal District applied for the penalty to the Hawks of the Faithful and Sao Independent fan clubs for their involvement in wild brawls at the venue in the past two weeks, reports Xinhua.

The groups are linked, but not officially aligned, to Corinthians and Sao Paulo.

Two of the men involved in Sunday’s violence during Corinthians’ 1-1 draw with Vasco da Gama were reportedly among the 12 supporters detained in Bolivia after a fan was killed by a flare.

“This punishment shows that these vandals cannot beat the authorities,” Brasilia’s World Cup secretary Claudio Monteiro said Wednesday.

“Our objective is to bring families back to the stadium.”

Apart from being banned from attending matches, the fans will not be allowed within a 5km radius of the stadium.

The Mane Garrincha stadium will host seven matches during the World Cup, to be played from June 12 to July 13 next year.