Brazilian protesters and police have clashed near a stadium hosting a Confederations Cup soccer match, with police using tear gas and rubber coated steel bullets to disperse thousands of demonstrators.

Anti-government protesters, angered by the billions spent in World Cup preparations, picked up tear gas canisters and threw them back at police, along with rocks.

The protesters were about 2 kilometres away from the stadium where Brazil was playing against Uruguay in a semifinal match on Wednesday of the warm-up tournament for next year's World Cup. A banner hung from a bridge read "FIFA go home" in reference to the world soccer body.

Police set up a 2-kilometre perimeter around the stadium, normal procedure for international tournaments. Mounted police and riot units maintained another security line about 1 kilometre from the stadium. About 5,000 policemen deployed to the stadium, with an additional 1,500 army personnel stationed at points throughout the city, sources told Al Jazeera's Gabriel Elizondo in Brasilia.

A further 150 officers have been stationed outside the Brazilian team's hotel, our correspondent said.

"The protesters started this when they tried to break through our outer barrier, we had no choice but to respond" said police Captain Flavio Almeida.

FIFA cancelled a "Soccer for Hope" charity event due to be held in Belo Horizonte on Wednesday, and postponed its chief Sepp Blatter's trip to the city.

By the time the match ended in a 2-1 Brazil victory, most of the protesters had dispersed. In another area of Belo Horizonte, a group of masked young men shattered the windows of car showroom and set the shop on fire.

About 50,000 protesters had earlier massed in a central plaza in Belo Horizonte. "We don't need the World Cup, we need education, we need better health services, a more humane police" said Leonardo Fabri, a 19-year-old protester.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/2013626134558458839.html