Police are braced for flashpoints between England and Argentina fans after the FBI classified the World Cup semi-final clash the ‘highest risk’ match of the tournament.
Scuffles have already broken out between rival supporters and there are fears Argentinian ‘ultra’ football thugs could be heading to the US.
There were isolated clashes between rival fans in Miami last week when England beat Norway.
Now security has been beefed up in Atlanta as thousands of fans arrived in the city amid a scramble for tickets, with seats on Fifa’s re-sale site priced at up to $3,700 (£2,700).
At the 68,239-capacity Atlanta Stadium there will be separate entry gates for the two sets of supporters – but no segregation once they get inside the stadium.
Officials are trying to promote some of the city’s bars as ‘England’ and others as ‘Argentina’ to keep supporters apart.
The shadow of the Falklands War hangs over the clash, as does Diego Maradona’s ‘Hand of God’ goal that knocked England out of the 1986 World Cup and David Beckham’s red card in 1998.
The Argentine squad has not helped matters with footage of them chanting about ‘Las Malvinas, por Diego and por la ultima de Leo’, meaning ‘For the Falklands, for Maradona and for Lionel Messi’s final World Cup’ – dragging one of football’s most volatile rivalries straight back to the 1982 conflict.
Security has been increased for England’s World Cup semi-final clash with Argentina. Pictured: Officers at the Los Angeles stadium ahead of Iran vs New Zealand last month
And this week Argentina’s foreign minister Pablo Quirino revived its claim on the Falklands.
The government in Buenos Aires is liaising with its UK counterparts, FBI and local police to prevent trouble.
There were fears groups of thugs from tough ‘barrios’ – or neighbourhoods – in cities such as Buenos Aires, Cordoba and Mendoza were trying to reach the US.
Stewards have been told to confiscate flags that depict the Falkland Islands in Argentine colours or describe them as the Malvinas.
Last night, Gary Lineker refused to back down over his use of the word Malvinas on his The Rest is Football podcast.
Responding to criticism, he said: ‘I don’t see why that is an issue really. That’s what they call it in Argentina. So, it’s just a factually correct term.’
