The most important questions and answers: Does Swiss football have a violence problem?

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In principle yes. Violent riots often occur during football matches. At the end of September there was a blast between Bernese fans and Zurich police at the Altstetten train station ahead of the Super League match between GC and YB. At the end of January, FCZ supporters and police clashed at the same location.

But: it has become quieter inside and immediately around the stadiums in recent years. This can also be proven statistically. “Last season there were fewer cases of serious violent confrontations in the Super League than at any time since these figures were collected in 2018,” said fan researcher Alain Brechbühl (36) in an interview with Blick. Deserted scenes like the one after the cup semi-final between Basel and YB in May 2023, when FCB fans attacked several security guards directly in front of St. Jakob-Park, have become rarer.

Consultations have been going on about the so-called cascade model since last September. This was developed by the Swiss Football League (SFL) in collaboration with the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (KKJPD). The model has five escalation levels, which automatically result in appropriate consequences depending on the incident. These range from a mandatory dialogue between clubs and fans with the authorities (level 1) to forfeiting defeats (level 5). The cascade model will certainly be introduced at the start of the 2024/2025 season.

The collective punishments provided for in the cascade model are particularly controversial. Many clubs and fan researchers Brechbühl fear that such measures could even lead to the affected fans showing solidarity with the individual perpetrators responsible. Moreover, the legal basis of collective punishment is questioned. The extent to which clubs can be held responsible for the behavior of their fans outside the stadium area and punished accordingly is extremely controversial.

FCZ chairman Ancillo Canepa (70) also sees it that way. That is why FC Zurich and several FCZ fans have appealed to the city of Zurich against the closure of the south bend. To set a precedent, Canpea even wants to go to the Federal Court if necessary. The FCZ president relies on a ruling by the Federal Court that measures such as corner closures may not constitute a punitive measure for the behavior of fans outside the stadium.

FC Basel also took a public position last week and described the imposition of collective punishments as not proportionate or effective.

Instead of collective punishment, many Super League clubs consider the consistent prosecution of individual perpetrators to be more effective. In recent years, there has been increasing attention to a joint dialogue with fans and authorities. According to many clubs, this has proven successful.

Under the motto ‘Shifted perception, shifted curves’, fan curves from numerous professional clubs demonstrated last weekend in a joint action against collective punishment. The fan groups moved from their corners and host sectors to other parts of the stadium.

Not so bad. In Germany, the police are significantly more present in the stadiums. This indirectly leads to greater conflicts over and over again. At the end of November, the situation escalated during the Bundesliga match between Eintracht Frankfurt and VfB Stuttgart. A violent clash between Eintracht fans and police leaves around 200 injured in Deutsche Bank Park.

In France, the Ligue 1 match between Montpellier and Clermont was stopped early in injury time at the end of October after fireworks exploded right next to guest goalkeeper Mory Diaw (30).

Things are different in the English Premier League. Thanks to strict surveillance measures and high ticket prices, it is very quiet in the stadiums. But the violence has shifted to the lower leagues. The London Home Office will report a total of more than 2,000 arrests related to football matches in 2022 – more than at any time since 2014.

Source : Blick