Fans didn’t participate: this is how the police and the league want to curb fan violence

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When talking no longer helps, action must be taken: The Swiss Football League and the security authorities want to continue to rely on prevention and dialogue to prevent fan violence in and around football stadiums. If riots do occur in the future, a cascade model has been developed.

Sounds cumbersome, but in summary it means: Depending on the severity and type of riots, measures are gradually taken and probationary periods are announced. Level 5, highlighted in dark red in the league visualization, includes forfeit defeats for the club’s wandering fans. A novelty. However, the personalized cards that many politicians have asked for in recent years do not play a role.

Fans are not involved

Representatives of the clubs, SFL, police, SBB, science, fans and other authorities took part in the workshop to develop the cascade model, which has been open for public consultation since the beginning of this week. The organized fan scene, an important player in general, is not. What the league regrets. The league also reports that the parties agree that riots have no place in the stadiums. However, there is no consensus on assessing the impact of the measures.

Despite the differences, a first cascade model was developed. Important: the measures should only come into effect in the case of group actions – not in the case of riots committed by individuals.

Questions about the implementation

What stands out: The article contains generalities, but questions arise regarding its implementation. In the case of “danger to people due to the lighting of fireworks or firecrackers” level 1 must be activated: mandatory meetings before and after a match with the police, fan representatives and club officials. However, it remains to be seen whether simply lighting a pyro flash in a fan curve is dangerous. Likewise, the facial recognition required at level 2 when entering the stadium must be data protection compatible.

Levels 3 and 4 require the closure of the offending club’s fan sector and complete ghost games. The sanction at Level 5 is notable: if a group of fans repeatedly commits violence that results in injuries to other people, the offending fans’ club must be punished – in the form of a forfeit. This means: The behavior of the fans could influence the Super League table in the future.

What’s next? The consultations will last several weeks and a report should be available by the end of the year. According to the league, this serves as a basis for deciding whether and in what form the cascade model will be introduced.

Source : Blick