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Rival soccer fans in Argentina will now go to jail for tearing the country's currency

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Soccer in South America has a fierce fan culture. Fans of teams from Brazil, Chile, Peru are taking taunting to a whole new level. Their target is Argentina, and the method - the peso. Might have heard, Argentina just has a horrible inflation rate - just horrible - over 100%. So fans from other countries whose teams are playing in Argentina have taken to shredding Argentinian pesos during games, even burning them. Broadcast that on the stadium kiss cam. They might need to think twice now. The government of Argentina announced that those caught destroying currency in the country could face penalties of up to 30 days in prison. That's a red card.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOO FIGHTERS' "BALLAD OF THE BEACONSFIELD MINERS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Scott Simon is one of America's most admired writers and broadcasters. He is the host of Weekend Edition Saturday and is one of the hosts of NPR's morning news podcast Up First. He has reported from all fifty states, five continents, and ten wars, from El Salvador to Sarajevo to Afghanistan and Iraq. His books have chronicled character and characters, in war and peace, sports and art, tragedy and comedy.
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