Argentina paves way for return of visiting fans after 12-year ban tried to curb stadium violence

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — A ban on away fans in Argentina's local leagues — a restriction that failed to end stadium violence — will gradually be lifted under a plan announced Thursday by the country's soccer federation.

The 12-year ban will be lifted in a test run when Lanús hosts Rosario Central in the second matchday of the top-flight Clausura tournament, Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia said at a press conference.

“It’s a day that marks a before and after in our league,” Tapia said. “It’s the kind of soccer (with visitors) we all grew accustomed to since we were kids. We have to get back to that path. Clubs that are in a position to host visiting fans can do so.”

The federation banned visiting fans in the first-division tournament in 2013 after two incidents: the death of a Lanús fan when police tried to break up a clash with Estudiantes supporters; and the death of two Boca Juniors fans in a shootout between rival factions.

The ban was imposed first in the province of Buenos Aires, and the rest of the districts followed. While the measure sought to end stadium violence, it fell short, as more deaths subsequently occurred for disputes among the so-called “barrabravas.”

The AFA announced that 6,500 fans of Rosario Central, a team from that city located 300 kilometers north of Buenos Aires, will be able to occupy the Lanús away section under a strict security protocol, which includes designated tickets so that fans attending are properly identified.

“The idea isn’t to go back to what we had before because the visitors were kicked out for a reason,” Buenos Aires security minister Javier Alonso said. “We have to eradicate the culture of violence. It’s sad to see 10-year-olds singing about drugs or that someone needs to be killed. It has to be a family celebration, with flags and drums.”

For the time being, the measure will apply only to the province of Buenos Aires, although Tapia said that other provinces are willing to join the initiative.

The plan has raised questions. Sectors of the opposition to the Buenos Aires government warned that police officers cannot be assigned to guard visiting fans to the detriment of citizens concerned about a growing wave of insecurity.

The restriction on visiting fans only applied to professional league matches and other divisions in Argentina. They are allowed in international tournaments such as the Copa Libertadores and the Copa Sudamericana.

“This is what football fans and society want. Many matches have been organized with two sets of fans, and that’s why we decided to announce the start of the return of visiting fans,” Tapia said.

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Rosario Central soccer fans get revved up as they arrive for a soccer match in Buenos Aires, Saturday, July 19, 2025, after the soccer federation lifted a 12-year ban as a test run on away fans in Argentina’s local leagues. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

A police officer conducts an entry inspection on a Rosario Central soccer fan as he arrives for a soccer match in Buenos Aires, Saturday, July 19, 2025, after the soccer federation lifted a 12-year ban as a test run on away fans in Argentina’s local leagues. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Police patrol as Rosario Central soccer fans arrive for a soccer match in Buenos Aires, Saturday, July 19, 2025, after the soccer federation lifted a 12-year ban as a test run on away fans in Argentina’s local leagues. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

Rosario Central soccer fans get revved up as they arrive for a soccer match in Buenos Aires, Saturday, July 19, 2025, after the soccer federation lifted a 12-year ban as a test run on away fans in Argentina’s local leagues. (AP Photo/Gustavo Garello)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sluggish December hiring concluded a year of weak employment gains that have frustrated job seekers even though layoffs and unemployment have remained low.

Employers added just 50,000 jobs last month, nearly unchanged from a downwardly revised figure of 56,000 in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate slipped to 4.4%, its first decline since June, from 4.5% in November, a figure also revised lower.

The data suggests that businesses are reluctant to add workers even as economic growth has picked up. Many companies hired aggressively after the pandemic and no longer need to fill more jobs. Others have held back due to widespread uncertainty caused by President Donald Trump’s shifting tariff policies, elevated inflation, and the spread of artificial intelligence, which could alter or even replace some jobs.

Still, economists were encouraged by the drop in the unemployment rate, which had risen in the previous four straight reports. It had also alarmed officials at the Federal Reserve, prompting three cuts to the central bank's key interest rate last year. The decline lowered the odds of another rate reduction in January, economists said.

“The labor market looks to have stabilized, but at a slower pace of employment growth,” Blerina Uruci, chief economist at T. Rowe Price, said. There is no urgency for the Fed to cut rates further, for now."

Some Federal Reserve officials are concerned that inflation remains above their target of 2% annual growth, and hasn't improved since 2024. They support keeping rates where they are to combat inflation. Others, however, are more worried that hiring has nearly ground to a halt and have supported lowering borrowing costs to spur spending and growth.

November's job gain was revised slightly lower, from 64,000 to 56,000, while October's now shows a much steeper drop, with a loss of 173,000 positions, down from previous estimates of a 105,000 decline. The government revises the jobs figures as it receives more survey responses from businesses.

The economy has now lost an average of 22,000 jobs a month in the past three months, the government said. A year ago, in December 2024, it had gained 209,000 a month. Most of those losses reflect the purge of government workers by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

Nearly all the jobs added in December were in the health care and restaurant and hotel industries. Health care added 38,500 jobs, while restaurants and hotels gained 47,000. Governments — mostly at the state and local level — added 13,000.

Manufacturing, construction and retail companies all shed jobs. Retailers cut 25,000 positions, a sign that holiday hiring has been weaker than previous years. Manufacturers have shed jobs every month since April, when Trump announced sweeping tariffs intended to boost manufacturing.

Wall Street and Washington are looking closely at Friday's report as it's the first clean reading on the labor market in three months. The government didn’t issue a report in October because of the six-week government shutdown, and November’s data was distorted by the closure, which lasted until Nov. 12.

The hiring slowdown reflects more than just a reluctance by companies to add jobs. With an aging population and a sharp drop in immigration, the economy doesn't need to create as many jobs as it has in the past to keep the unemployment rate steady. As a result, a gain of 50,000 jobs is not as clear a sign of weakness as it would have been in previous years.

And layoffs are still low, a sign firms aren't rapidly cutting jobs, as typically happens in a recession. The “low-hire, low-fire” job market does mean current workers have some job security, though those without jobs can have a tougher time.

Ernesto Castro, 44, has applied for hundreds of jobs since leaving his last in May. Yet the Los Angeles resident has gotten just three initial interviews, and only one follow-up, after which he heard nothing.

With nearly a decade of experience providing customer support for software companies, Castro expected to find a new job pretty quickly as he did in 2024.

“I should be in a good position,” Castro said. “It’s been awful.”

He worries that more companies are turning to artificial intelligence to help clients learn to use new software. He hears ads from tech companies that urge companies to slash workers that provide the kind of services he has in his previous jobs. His contacts in the industry say that employees are increasingly reluctant to switch jobs amid all the uncertainty, which leaves fewer open jobs for others.

He is now looking into starting his own software company, and is also exploring project management roles.

December’s report caps a year of sluggish hiring, particularly after April's “liberation day” tariff announcement by Trump. The economy generated an average of 111,000 jobs a month in the first three months of 2025. But that pace dropped to just 11,000 in the three months ended in August, before rebounding slightly to 22,000 in November.

Last year, the economy gained just 584,000 jobs, sharply lower than that more than 2 million added in 2024. It's the smallest annual gain since the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the job market in 2020.

Subdued hiring underscores a key conundrum surrounding the economy as it enters 2026: Growth has picked up to healthy levels, yet hiring has weakened noticeably and the unemployment rate has increased in the last four jobs reports.

Most economists expect hiring will accelerate this year as growth remains solid, and Trump's tax cut legislation is expected to produce large tax refunds this spring. Yet economists acknowledge there are other possibilities: Weak job gains could drag down future growth. Or the economy could keep expanding at a healthy clip, while automation and the spread of artificial intelligence reduces the need for more jobs.

Productivity, or output per hour worked, a measure of worker efficiency, has improved in the past three years and jumped nearly 5% in the July-September quarter. That means companies can produce more without adding jobs. Over time, it should also boost worker pay.

Even with such sluggish job gains, the economy has continued to expand, with growth reaching a 4.3% annual rate in last year's July-September quarter, the best in two years. Strong consumer spending helped drive the gain. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta forecasts that growth could slow to a still-solid 2.7% in the final three months of last year.

FILE - A hiring sign is displayed at a grocery store in Northbrook, Ill., Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)