More baseball stadium biometrics...

Yankees announce improved security and entrance measures for fans (Crain's) — Yankee Stadium visitors soon will be able to avoid long security lines by registering their fingerprints with a biometric identity service used at 12 U.S. airports.

In another deployment the St. Louis Cardinals (baseball's second-most successful franchise in history) have installed iris biometrics for player and staff access control in more secure locations.

US: Professional baseball team offering fans fingerprint fast lane

Rockies Fans to Get Biometric Fast Access to Ballpark (Find Biometrics)

There will be a dedicated Fast Access entrance set up, and those who have already registered for CLEAR’s air travel eGates will be able to get in right off the bat, while newcomers can sign up at the event provided they have a driver’s license.

Hungary: Some fans bristle at stadium palm vein scanners

Soccer-Ferencvaros fans upset by biometric 'intrusion' (Yahoo!)

Szebasztian Huber, editor of the Fradi fan website ulloi129.hu said many fans also fear that technological developments would help clubs pass Hungarian Football Association fines -- which they regard as too strict -- on to them.

Stricter stadium rules also puzzle fans because the number of violent incidents in and around Hungarian stadiums is much lower than 10 or 20 years ago, he added.

"The culture of soccer fans is different everywhere, in some countries (vein scanners) would be tolerated, while elsewhere fans could be upset," Huber said. "Launching the system highlighting its comfort functions could increase tolerance."

Biometric system keeps excluded man from attending Boca Juniors-River Plate game

Argentina’s derby of derbies ends all-square (The Star - Malaysia) 

Meanwhile, security measures appeared to have worked efficiently after a renowned figure among Boca’s ‘barra brava’ or hooligan fringe was picked up by biometric identification system and was refused entry to the venue.

Mauro Martin tried to get into the game but Interior Minister Florencio Randazzo said he had been caught in the net and was prevented from attending after his fingerprints were checked.

During the summer, Martin required hospital treatment for a gunshot wound suffered in a confrontation between rival Boca hardcore followers.

Here's the scene yesterday at the 'Bombonera' in Buenos Aires. It's obviously an incredible atmosphere.

Notice that the players seem to be deposited into the center of the field via a long protective tube.

German soccer fans angered by face-scan plan

"We have to go beyond the current discussions" (Reuters)

"Along with the help of personalised entrance tickets and face scanners, notorious rioters can be effectively kept out of the stadiums," said Caffier in a statement.

"We have to go beyond the current discussions," he said.

A study has been commissioned to determine the practical and legal feasibility of using the technology in stadiums, after which a pilot run of the scanners will be carried out.

In a country that has had a difficult relationship with surveillance in the past, any form of monitoring the population is met with suspicion.

"This idea is a disgrace to democracy and is reminiscent of Orwell's 1984," said Philipp Markhardt, spokesman for the national Pro-Fans association.

A note:

In the hardware world as it relates to facial recognition, there really isn't any such thing as a "face scanner." Facial recognition is something that happens when certain software is applied to images collected by ordinary cameras. You might use a flat-bed scanner to get an image into a computer, but it's still just a photo scanner, not a face scanner.


h/t @m2sys

Facial Recognition Experiment to Identify Hooligans Among Football Supporters Groups in Sao Paulo State

FPF project tests biometric identification of hooligans (Fórum Biometria - Portuguese)

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.

"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.

Source: Globo Esporte
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)