Sao Paulo police fired tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets on Thursday to break up an anti-World Cup protest on Thursday morning, just hours before the first World Cup match was to be played in the city.
More than 300 protesters gathered near a Sao Paulo subway station with a red banner reading "If we have no rights, there won't be a Cup," claiming they planned to march as close as possible to Corinthians Arena, the city's World Cup stadium, Agence France-Presse reported.
But before the demonstrators could start their protests by blocking the traffic, police repeatedly pushed the crowd back and carried anti-riot shields such as firing stun grenades and gas to break them up.
A male protestor, who stood shirtless in the middle of the street refusing to disperse, was detained after an officer fired rubber bullets at him, police said.
Opponents have continuously criticized the country for using more than $11 billion in government spending for the tournament instead of applying it into education, health, housing and transport.
As the rallying cry of the protest movement went on, the demonstrators chanted, "There won't be a Cup."
Gregory Leao, a 27-year-old law student who participated in the protest, said the demonstrators wanted to invade the stadium.
"The objective is to put an end to the World Cup. We realize we're not going to achieve it, but we believe Brazilians should rise up," he told AFP.
"Brazilians love football but they don't need this (World Cup) right now."
"I'm totally against the Cup," said protester Tameres Mota, a university student at the demonstration. "We're in a country where the money doesn't go to the community, and meanwhile we see all these millions spent on stadiums."
The sprawling South American country was visibly divided Thursday between excited fans decked out in green and yellow in fervent support of the national team and those fearful of anti-World Cup protests or determined to join them, AFP reported.
