Argentina’s Tribuna Segura, Soccer Banning Orders and the 2025 Club World Cup

Jun 13, 2025

By John Wendt

The one adjective that is associated with soccer, more than any other sport is “passion”.  The athletes play with passion. The fans show their passion, and at times overzealously.  These overzealous fans are totally invested in their teams and often fall into two categories, “ultras” and “hooligans”[1] and the lines between them is often blurred.  One common element is that some of these groups have gone beyond merely supporting their teams or even being irresponsible and disorderly to creating a hostile and intimidating atmosphere for the opposition.[2]  They are present throughout the world.

Argentina, three-time World Cup Champions, is home to some of the greatest soccer players in the world – Lionel Messi, Diego Maradona, Mario Kempes, and Angel Di Maria among others.  At the same time, Argentina had a history of soccer violence and hooliganism.  In Argentina hooligans are referred to as “barra bravas” or “barras-bravas.” [3]  A 2011 NY Times article noted that violence is part of the soccer culture in Argentina[4] and that the barra bravas influence, which was compared to “mini-mafias,” extended beyond the stadium selling drugs and engaging in legal and illegal activity.  At times, players and fans were accosted before, during and after games.[5]  Then Association of Argentinian Football (AFA) President (and FIFA number two) Julio Grondona said that to “ensure normality in the stadiums” clubs had to institute biometric measure for fans attending the games to “deepen the right of admission.”[6] 

Argentina enacted a number of laws and resolutions to ensure the safety and integrity of sporting events.  This started with Law No. 20,655 (the Sports Law) followed by the creation of the  National Sports Agency as an enforcement arm (Decree No. 92/2019)[7] and the creation of the National Directorate of Security in Sporting Events (Directorate) charged with creating, harmonizing and implementing measures to prevent violence and crime at sporting events throughout the country.  In 2016 the Ministry of Security issued Resolution No. 33 which created the “National Register of People with Admission Rights to Football Events”.[8]  In 2017 the Directorate issued Decree No. 246/17 on “Security in Football” establishing safety guidelines for facilities hosting international soccer events including South American and FIFA competitions.[9]  

The most notable action was in 2018 when the Ministry of Security created the “Tribuna Segura” Program (roughly translated “Safer Stands”) designed to combat drug trafficking, organized crime, and criminal behavior.  It is also used to identify and restrict access to soccer stadia for individuals or fans with a history of violence.[10]  It is Argentina’s version of a Football Banning Order.  Ensuring the exclusion of these individuals is an attempt to guarantee safety and good conduct at sporting events.  As it has been refined over the years, the Tribuna Segura Program uses a dynamic biometric, facial recognition identification program integrating high technology to combat crime and criminal behavior.

Law enforcement officers use a mobile device to immediately check the Argentine National Identity Document to determine if an individual is eligible to entry a stadium.  The device checks three databases: Registro Nacional de las Personas (“National Registry of Persons” or RENAPER) the governmental authority responsible identification and documentation of individuals[11]; Sistema Informático de Seguridad en Espectáculos Futbolísticos (“Computer System for Security in Football Events” or SISEF)[12] which identifies people with entry rights or legal restrictions on their right to enter; and Sistema Federal de Comunicaciones Policiales (“Federal Police Communications System” or SIFCOP) which is a nationwide police database with arrest warrants, travel bans, etc. that is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.[13]

According to Argentina’s Ministry of Security Patricia Bullrich, the Tribuna Segura has been a success.  More than 6,000 people were identified as having committed violent offences and more than 1,100 of those had arrest warrants.[14]  In addition more than seventy fugitives of justices were captured and arrested.  Because of reduced violence inside of stadia, several previously installed safety devices such as barbed wire and acrylic panels were no longer needed and removed from the stands. [15] 

The Tribuna Segura was used as part of a security agreement for the 2024 CONMEBOL America Cup through a Memorandum of Understanding between Argentina and the US Department of Justice and the US Department of National Security.[16]  And for the 2025 Club World Cup Argentina again entered an agreement between the Argentine Ministry of Security and the US Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and State Department to use the Tribuna Segura “for the exchange of strategic, tactical and operational information… in order to collaborate with the actions to prevent violent incidents among the supporters who will visit the United States of America during the events in question.”[17]

The upcoming thirty-two team FIFA Club World Cup will be held in the United States from June 15 through July 13, 2025.  In anticipation of the event, other nations have notified the US of their football banning orders.  Most notably Manchester City and Chelsea have been invited, and the UK Home Office has notified about 150 fans that they are prohibited from attending the event and must turn in their passports before the competition to be returned to them at the conclusion of the Cup. [18] 

Two teams from Argentina, Boca Juniors and River Plate, have also been invited.  Minister Bullrich recently turned over a list of hooligans who will not be able to attend to Abigail Dressel, the US chargé d’affaires saying, “For us, this is extremely important, as no one who has committed a crime in Argentine stadiums will be able to enter this World Cup. It is something extremely important.”[19]  Bullrich went on to state, “This means a strengthening in sports security, which is very important for us.  Tribuna Segura is a control tool that the Government, the Security Ministry has to prevent violence in stadiums, and the level of reduced violence in stadiums has been very significant in recent years.”[20]  Dressel responded emphasizing the bilateral cooperation between Argentina and the US, “Citizen security is a priority for our countries. The US and Argentina are not only committed to security but also to strengthening our diplomatic ties, and we share a great cultural affinity and are united by the passion for soccer, a sport that inspires and connects our societies.”[21]

There is a difference between the banning orders of the two countries.  The list of UK fans that have been banned is 150.  The list of Argentine fans is 15,000.[22]  Let us hope there is no violence.


[1] James Piotr Montague, Opinion Article – Fan Violence, Ultras and Hooligans, iMEdD (Apr. 1, 2024), https://www.imedd.org/opinion-article-fan-violence-ultras-and-hooligans/.

[2] Nicolas Pantelick, Fanaticism and the “Ultras” Movement: How Far Will You Go to Support Your Team?, Harvard International Review (Feb. 2, 2022), https://hir.harvard.edu/fanaticism-and-the-ultras-movement/.

[3] Diego Murzi, Violence in Football, State Management, and Sports Security in Argentina: An Analysis of Public Policies, Legislation, and Social Control Strategies over the Last Four Decades (1983–2023), (2024), https://ri.conicet.gov.ar/handle/11336/253680.  See also, Eugenio Paradiso, The Social, Political, and Economic Causes of Violence in Argentine Soccer, 21 NEXUS Can. Stud. J. Anthropol. (2009), https://journals.mcmaster.ca/nexus/article/view/217.  See also, Fernando Segura Trejo, Diego Murzi & Belen Nassar, Violence and Death in Argentinean Soccer in the New Millennium: Who Is Involved and What Is at Stake?, International Review for the Sociology of Sport (Jan. 22, 2018), https://hal.science/hal-02162050.

[4] Alexei Barrionuevo & Charles Newbery, In Argentina, Violence Is Part of the Soccer Culture, The New York Times, Nov. 26, 2011, https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/27/sports/soccer/in-argentina-violence-is-part-of-the-soccer-culture.html.

[5] Id.  Sadly, the violence still exists today.  See, BBC Sport, Angel Di Maria: Death Threats Ruin Argentine’s “dream” Return to Boyhood Club Rosario Central, BBC Sport (Jul. 31, 2024), https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/articles/cv2gdepn91mo.

[6] Barrionuevo and Newbery, supra note 4.

[7] Pablo Palazzi, In Review: Sports Governance and Dispute Resolution in Argentina, Lexology (Sep. 8, 2023), https://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=f330cbdf-2663-4f21-a857-3f80c0e853d2.

[8] Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, Boletin Oficial Republica Argentina – Ministerio De Seguridad – Resolución 843/2018, (Oct. 25, 2018), https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/195302.

[9] Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, Boletin Oficial Republica Argentina – Ministerio De Seguridad – Resolución 343/2024, (May 7, 2024), https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/306938.

[10] Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, supra note 8.

[11] Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers, Renaper, Argentina.gob.ar (May 2, 2019), https://www.argentina.gob.ar/interior/renaper.

[12] National Directorate of Security in Sports Events, Provision 1/2021, Argentina.gob.ar (Mar. 5, 2021), https://www.argentina.gob.ar/.

[13] Ministry of Security, Sistema Federal de Comunicaciones Policiales, Argentina.gob.ar (Jul. 25, 2022), https://www.argentina.gob.ar/seguridad/secretaria-seguridad/subsecretaria-de-investigacion-criminal-y-cooperacion-judicial-4.  See also, Ministry of Security, Seguridad Trabaja Con La Nación Para El Ingreso Seguro de Hinchas a Los Estadios, Argentina.gob.ar (Nov. 1, 2017), https://www.argentina.gob.ar/noticias/seguridad-trabaja-con-la-nacion-para-el-ingreso-seguro-de-hinchas-los-estadios.

[14] Mauro L. Muñoz, La Lista de Bullrich: Entregó 15 Mil Nombres a EE.UU. Para Que No Vayan al Mundial de Clubes, (May 12, 2025), https://www.ellitoral.com/politica/patriciabullrich-tribunasegura-barabravas-seguridad-mundialdeclubes-eeuu-violencia-estadios_0_eETTbO89BZ.html.

[15] Buenos Aires City – Government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, More than 70 Fugitives Captured Thanks to the Safe Grandstand Program during 2024 in the City’s Soccer Stadiums, (Feb. 4, 2025), https://buenosaires.gob.ar/noticias/mas-de-70-profugos-capturados-gracias-al-programa-tribuna-segura-durante-2024-en-los.

[16] Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, supra note 9.

[17] Official Gazette of the Argentine Republic, Boletin Oficial Republica Argentina – Ministerio De Seguridad Nacional – Resolución 550/2025, (May 9, 2025), https://www.boletinoficial.gob.ar/detalleAviso/primera/325209.

[18] Melanie Anzidei, Argentina Bans 15,000 Violent Fans from Stadiums during Club World Cup in U.S. This Summer, The New York Times, May 13, 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6351374/2025/05/12/argentina-club-world-cup-violent-fan-bans/.

[19] Editorial Team, La Derecha Diario, The Government Presented a List of 15,000 Hooligans Who Won’t Be Able to Attend the Club World Cup., La Derechadiario US (May 12, 2025), https://derechadiario.com.ar/us/argentina/government-presented-a-list-of-15000-fans-who-wont-be-able-to-attend-the-club-world-cup.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Muñoz, supra note 14.

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