South Africa bolsters security to keep hooligans out of FIFA World Cup

Johannesburg, May 10 (ANI): South African authorities have set up various �special cells� and accelerated judicial processes in order to keep European hooligans at bay during the upcoming FIFA World Cup to be hosted by the country.

South Africa which itself has one of the worst rates of violent crime is beefing up security arrangements keeping in mind the track record of over-zealous English fans who have been known to go on a rampage when their team loses.

South African National Police Commissioner General Bheki Cele said his country was hoping to stop troublemakers before they got to the World Cup, but was concerned that many were already on the move, the Herald Sun reports.

�We have met the intelligence chiefs of Britain � I didn�t know that there were countries that had a football police, but we have met the football police � and they are giving us information on those fans they won�t let leave their countries (due to prior convictions),� the paper quoted Cele as saying.

The police have also set up special remand and court systems to cope with any arrests during the tournament.

�For those fans that are here, we will have special courts, we will have special cells � if they do anything out of hand, we will put them in the special cells and try them and give them a life sentence if it is serious and let them go home if they are innocent,� he said.

Cele has been a controversial figure in South Africa due to his claims a FIFA official told him that the World Cup is going to be taken away from South Africa due to safety concerns, and for saying that he is praying USA doesn�t make it to the second round so that he could avoid having to host President Obama, the paper reports. (ANI)

To avoid Obama”s visit, South African police chief wants US knocked out of WC

London, May 8 (ANI): South African police chief General Bheki Cele in order to avoid a visit by President Barack Obama to the country during the World Cup, is ”praying” that the US football team is knocked out of the tournament.

Briefing on senators on security, General Bheki Cele said that a visit by the US President, which could happen if the team makes the knockout stage, would be a nightmare.

Cele was briefing lawmakers on South Africa”s security plan for the World Cup, which has met with approval from Interpol, the global police agency, and security authorities of the 31 visitor teams.

“Our famous prayer is that they don”t make the second round. They get eliminated and they go home because we are told that if they go to the second or third stage, the American president might come,” The Telegraph quoted him as saying to the Parliamentary Police Committee.

The United States is one of 31 visitor nations competing for the World Cup in South Africa.

So far 43 heads of state have provisionally confirmed their attendance in the first World Cup on African soil, but General Cele said the presence of the US leader would double security requirements for the event

“That 43 will be equal to this one operation,” he said.

The United States is in Group C with England, Slovenia and Algeria. (ANI)