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FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke acknowledged that "maybe there were too many people who were drunk" at the matches and pointed to the connection between inebriation and violence. Sergio Moraes/Reuters
In an interview with Brazil's sports television network SporTV, Jerome Valcke acknowledged Monday that "maybe there were too many people who were drunk" at the matches and pointed to the connection between inebriation and violence.
Brazil banned alcohol sales at soccer matches in 2003 in a bid to curb fan violence. But Budweiser is a major World Cup sponsor and the tournament's organizer, FIFA, insisted Brazil lift the ban in order to host the month-long event. Lawmakers opposed to lifting
During the protracted debate over the legislation, Valcke stated in 2012 that in-stadium beer sales were a key part of World Cup tradition and that lifting
In Monday's SporTV interview, Valcke appeared to soften his position, saying alcohol sales are "something we have to look at."
"If we think that it is necessary to control (alcohol sales) we will control them," said Valcke, who spoke in English through a Portuguese translator. "We would never put the organization of a match at risk."
Fan violence has broken out at several matches here, including Saturday's Colombia-Uruguay match in Rio de Janeiro, where stewards had to intervene to separate hostile spectators. Following the match, apparently inebriated Argentine fans celebrating their team's victory over Iran on June 21 caused a dust-up in the central Brazilian city of Belo Horizonte.
Valcke stressed that in-stadium beer sales have never been a problem in previous World Cups.
"I was amazed by the number of people who were drunken and the level of alcohol" in Brazil, he said, adding "I was a bit surprised." The 2022 World Cup is scheduled to be held in Qatar, a Gulf state where alcohol consumption in public is forbidden.
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