The protests in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the fierce response by president Donald Trump, who deployed 4,000 National Guards troops and 700 marines to protect the city against "a foreign enemy", threaten the peaceful celebrations of sporting events taking place this weekend: one of the opening matches of the FIFA Club World Cup (between Paris Saint-German and Atlético de Madrid, no less) and, more worryingly, the opening Gold Cup match between Mexico and Dominican Republic.
Gold Cup, held every two years, is the top nations competition in CONCACAF (North and Central America and the Caribbean), and the first match takes place at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles. Over 70,000 spectators are expected to attend, most of them Mexican or Dominican, which could increase tension in the context of protests against the increasing raids in parts of the city with large Hispanic populations.
After a week of protests, downtown Los Angeles in under curfew from 8 PM to 6 AM, with arrests to anyone who breaks the curfew. It also affect fans travelling to Los Angeles to watch the games at Club World Cup, with fan association Football Supporters Europe (FSE) criticising the use of police brutality against peaceful protestors, urging FIFA to act against the US while showing concern for all fans visiting the city for the football matches.