Rubber bullets, water cannons and prison trains.

Given the artillery South African authorities have been stockpiling leading up to the opening of the World Cup in two weeks, it’s unclear whether the country is preparing for a festive soccer tournament or a bloody war.

Probably a bit of both.

Soccer fans, after all, are probably the most passionate supporters found in any sport.

And, in some cases, the most idiotic.

But if the hooligans from various countries think they can simply smash trash and bash a swath of destruction throughout South Africa once the world’s most-watched sporting event gets underway, they are in for a rude awakening.

Don’t just take our word for it though. Listen to the harsh message sent to any potential unruly fans by Cape Town police chief Rob Young, who used London’s Sunday Times this week to warn of the repercussions absorbed by any punks attempting to damage city streets and disrupt the tournament.

According to Young, South African law enforcement officials will “face down” rowdies with rubber bullets, then chuck them into specially designed cells on train cars. Water cannons reportedly also have been purchased from the U.S.

“People might say we are treating them like cattle but if they behave like animals we will give them no quarter,” Young said. “Football hooligans might think they are tough but we are the toughest gang in town.”

At least 50,000 England fans are expected to flood into South Africa for the tournament, including the team’s second preliminary round game in Cape Town on June 18 against Algeria. Many of those supporters are expected to hang around for several days until England’s next game, a date with Slovenia in not-so-distant Port Elizabeth June 23.

Keeping that in mind, Young is adopting a no-tolerance policy when it comes to fan violence.

“The message I send to any English fans thinking about starting any trouble is simple. We police the Third World every single day. Do you think we are intimidated by bunch of drunken boys in football jerseys?

“We are at war in the townships. It is a front line where our officers get shot and killed all the time. What can a drunken football hooligan do?”

South African authorities have acquired 40 additional helicopters to help police the event while about 40,000 officers will patrol the streets throughout the country.

With South African prisons already approximately 50,000 inmates above capacity, rebel rousers will find themselves scrunched into train cars that hold about 10 people per cell.

Let the war — make that the tournament — begin.

Seeing red

FIFA medical chief Michel D’Hooghe is talking tough when it comes to punishing hard fouls at the upcoming World Cup.

D’Hooge said Wednesday that referees will be instructed to liberally flash red cards whenever a career-threatening tackle is made, hopefully helping to cut down on the rash of injuries plaguing the sport in the process.

While such brash tongue-wagging sounds well and good, there are some issues with D’Hooghe’s logic.

First off, why does FIFA have to tell its officials to show red cards for dangerous fouls? Isn’t that common sense? Shouldn’t referees automatically be doing that? Why do they have to be instructed to enforce something they should have been calling all along?

Secondly, this “red card edict” might just cause players to dive and fake injuries even more than they are now, all with the purpose of getting an opponent booted out of the game in any way possible. Unless the officials clamp down on such theatrics, it will tarnish the image of the event, to be sure.

In theory, at least D’Hooghe’s intentions are legit. As he pointed out, there is no place in the game for the type of illegal tackle administered on Chelsea’s Michael Ballack by Portsmouth’s Kevin-Prince Boateng in the recent FA Cup Final that left the German captain out of the World Cup with serious ankle ligament damage.