Corinthians vs. Santos: Football Federation to experiment with biometric identification to punish vandals; If it works, it will be deployed across the country.
The Paulista Football Federation (FPF) in the classic match-up between Corinthians and Santos, next Sunday in Pacaembu Stadium, facial recognition biometrics developed by an Israeli software firm will be used to identify bullies in the crowd. The FPF initiative is aimed at ending the anonymity of rowdy fans through facial recognition of images captured on cameras at the entrances and inside the stadium with the idea of punishing the individual fan instead of the supporters group (torcida) or team.
Pacaembu Stadium Source: Wikipedia
The "Big Brother of the stadium" is being offered to the Ministry of Sports and, if successfully implemented, will be used throughout the country. The Ministry already has a budget of just over R$6 million [US$ 3.42 million] set aside for investment in stadium security, which is under the management of the Football Union.Source: Globo Esporte
"We will be monitoring using our database of the supporters organizations. This is breaking the anonymity of people [who scuffle] who we can then identify by their face. We will identify and punish [violence committed] in and around the stadium," said Colonel Mark Marino, Chairman of the FPF's Committee of Arbitration.
Under the plan, to enter the stadium, members of organized fan groups must present a card from the FPF to a uniformed police officer, which identifies him as a member of the torcida. If the facial identification project is approved, this accreditation will be the basis for the formation of a database, which, along with facial biometrics which will identify those who fight or commit acts of vandalism in the vicinity of the stadium. They will receive an immediate suspension and will be barred from future matches until their case is judged.
Mark Marino points out that the project does not relieve the responsibility of teams and supporters groups to control their members. The punishment will be applied to an individual fan or a small group if they are triggering the confusion. However, if widespread riots occur, the entities [teams and torcidas] will be punished.
"We are treating them [the torcidas] as organized entities. They are not only informal groups and they have a duty to cooperate with security."
This biometric identification system is already used at some airports, but has not yet been tested in stadiums. In the classic ["big game"] on Sunday, only the Santos fans will be the "guinea pig" for the experiment, since, because they are the visiting side, they will be fewer in number, making the first step of the project simpler.
Translation: Mine with assistance from Google Translate
Background:
A decent description of Brazilian torcidas or supporters groups is available at Wikipedia.
You can get a feel for what a torcida (Corintians' Gavioes da Fiel) sounds like (YouTube)
And here is a video showing some of what goes on in the torcidas which provide some of the greatest spectacles in all of sports. (If this is new territory for you, it'll blow your mind)
But there's also this: Furious Corinthians Fans Go On Rampage After Copa Libertadores Exit (Goal.com - Feb. 3, 2011)
In order to preserve the great things supporters groups bring to Brazilian football, some of the negative aspects must be addressed. It's also highly likely that some in the leadership of groups themselves will appreciate the assistance in "policing their own." It's really hard to prevent a few bad apples from using big, and sometimes loosely organized, organizations as cover for their own version of "Fight Club" or worse.
Match Result:
Santos defeated Corintians 3-1 (w/ video)
