Strasbourg, 16/06/2016 (Agence Europe) - The Council of Europe (COE) will be using the opportunity of the UEFA 2016 Euro cup finals to sign its convention on integrated security and safety approaches and services during football matches and other sports events. It is expected to be signed on 3 July, before the final match in the quarter-finals at the Stade de France in Paris.
This new text is an update of the first “European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in Particular at Football Matches”, which was launched in the wake of the tragic Heysel (Belgium) events in 1985. In 1983, the subject was also the subject of a recommendation by the Parliamentary Assembly at the Committee of Ministers.
It is therefore almost three decades since the publication of these first measures and it has become apparent that the substance no longer fits and indeed contradicts the context that has evolved over the past ten years. The explanatory report accompanying the new convention explains that many people think the current convention ill-adapted and that some of its provisions are more likely to exacerbate rather than reduce the risks of violence and clashes occurring, particularly but not exclusively during football matches.
The convention highlights the integrated nature of the measures it advocates. These measures are based around three interdependent pillars: security (protecting property and the health of people attending matches inside and outside the stadium or those working or residing in the vicinity of the event in question); safety (risk prevention and reduction) and the quality of services available so that people and groups feel welcome. The report says that hospitality has an obvious effect on the behaviour of supporters and the level of corresponding risk and that this “fundamental shortcoming” in the first convention requires rectification.
Other recent factors are taken into account in the new range of measures. Immigration is one of these measures, which has led to visiting supporters from the national teams travelling to several European countries; low-cost travel, which allows a greater number of supporters to cross the continent to attend football matches, as well as the development of media coverage, which provides more coverage of each event in relation to the big matches than was previously the case.
The text is very detailed and calls for clear procedures involving, for example, the use of fireworks and pyrotechnics, violent, racist or discriminatory behaviour and highlights the need for players and managers to comply with the principles of tolerance and respect inherent in sport.
It also underlines the importance of police strategies and the need for them to be further elaborated and regularly evaluated and fine-tuned. These strategies must include the collation and exchange of intelligence, also at international level, whilst taking into account the proportionality of intervention in order to prevent the escalation of risk and trouble.
Measures are planned for punishing acts of violence and clashes, particularly by banning orders and different procedures for implementation in the countries where the infringement has been committed and where the individuals concerned reside. Travel restrictions are also advocated.
In the field of security, the text points out that the infrastructure of sporting arenas must comply with national and international standards and regulations in order to facilitate effective crowd management. It also calls for rescue and intervention plans to be systematically defined, tested and brought up to speed.
This convention particularly focuses on football but its provisions can also apply to sports such as basketball and ice hockey, which are also likely to attract considerable crowds. Signatory countries will be committed to strengthening international police cooperation and appointing a National Football Information Point (NFIP) that will facilitate the exchange of personal data at international matches. (Original version in French by Véronique Leblanc)