10 February,2015 03:35 PM IST | | IANS
Brazilian football club Sport Club do Recife has recruited mothers of disrupting fans as stewards in an effort to prevent supporters from fighting
Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian football club Sport Club do Recife has recruited mothers of disrupting fans as stewards in an effort to prevent supporters from fighting.
The unique step was taken by the club based in the north-east of Brazil with a history of violence, after fresh tensions escalated during its league matches.
A group of 30 mothers was assigned the task of patrolling the perimeter fence of the stands wearing vests emblazoned with "Seguranca Mae" - security mums in Portuguese.
"At the end of the day, no one wants to fight in front of a mother, especially his own," official Aricio Fortes was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald Tuesday.
"The idea was to make the most fanatical supporters aware and help in some way to bring peace to stadiums."
Fan violence in Brazil is a regular phenomenon.
The bitter rivalries between clubs like Nautico, Sport Club do Recife and Gremio have the propensity not only to inspire riots but also trigger murders.
Between 1988 and 2013, there were 234 football-related deaths in Brazil, including 30 in 2013.
But initiatives like that of Sport Club do Recife have mostly improved the experience of fans over the past decade.
