Americans: Foreigners Most Banned From World Cup

06/20/2014 - 09h42

Americans have the highest refusal rate for entry to Brazil since the start of the World Cup. Up until Thursday 19, the Federal Police prevented 72 people from entering the country. 23 of them were American.

Foreigners of 19 different nationalities are on the list of people who didn´t pass immigration controls. Nigerians came second on the list of refusals. There were 16.

Most were refused entry for common reasons, such as a missing visa or an expired passport. But among the Americans there was also a person condemned for pedophilia.

All 13 Argentines who were forcibly returned are on a list of hooligans. Fans with a history of violence have been forbidden entry to their neighbouring country and are included in a Federal Police database.

Argentine authorities sent 2,100 names and Brazil fulfilled its promise to deport them as soon as their presence was detected in the country.

However, the number of deportees must have boomed after Chileans were detained while attempting to invade the Maracanã stadium on Wednesday 18.

The 85 fans identified by the Rio Civil Police were freed, but the government gave them 72 hours to leave the country.

Despite strict airport controls, the so called dry borders- with other South American countries- are considered an easy entry point, even for those with restrictions.

This week the Federal Police also detained Mexican trafficker José Diaz-Barajas at Rio de Janeiro´s Galeão airport, as he was attempting to board for Fortaleza, in the state of Ceará. He was planning to attend the Brazil v. Mexico game.

Considering the vast amount of Americans who came to the World Cup, the US Embassy in Brasilia was not surprised that 23 people had been refused entry.

There is however no estimate for the number of American fans that are attending the World Cup in Brazil. According to FIFA, Americans are the foreigners that most bought tickets for the World Cup: with a total of 196, 838 tickets bought.

The US Embassy in Brazil has highlighted that the final decision for entry of foreigners rests with the Brazilian authorities.

"The Embassy stresses that all American citizens need a valid visa to travel to Brazil," informed the Embassy´s press attaché.

Translated by JULIANA CALDERARI

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