There is great debate in the football community about how to get rid of the destructive supporter culture.
The latest entry in the debate came from Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer, who said that a solution could be to introduce the Italian model – with tighter controls.
– The problems do not disappear, but are fought in other places instead, says Olof Lundh about the proposal.
The debate about how to deal with the row in the stands got its start after the tumult during the Stockholm derby between Djurgården and AIK on 28 May. Two days after the match, the chairman of the Swedish Football Association, Fredrik Reinfeldt, held a press conference where he stated that it is now up to evidence for Swedish football’s new exclusion strategy, which, unlike the previous “conditional ladder”, consists of punishing individual supporters instead of the collective .
The debate then reached its highest level when Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer met representatives from football Sweden and the National Sports Confederation on Friday. In addition to the current exclusionary strategy, Strömmer also mentioned the possibility of introducing the Italian model of personal tickets that can only be purchased with the presentation of ID. This was suggested as a potential solution to improve the situation in Swedish football, but the discussion on how to overcome the stand riot continues. Various measures and strategies are being considered to promote a safe and positive atmosphere in football stadiums – with Italy as well as England being held up as examples.
– England and Italy are the ones who have gone the furthest in strategies to create greater calm in the stands. But you still have to emphasize that the problems do not disappear, but you fight in other places instead, but it will be calmer in the stands, says TV4-Sport’s Olof Lundh.
Supporters can be ported
Through the Italian model, the organizers can thus identify individuals who have been involved in inappropriate behaviour, violence or hooliganism. If a supporter commits a serious infraction, the supporter can at worst be removed from upcoming events or from arenas. In the event that you have committed a minor violation, you should know that you are being watched.
– Those who are banned from entering an arena must report to either the police or another authority in connection with matches, this has also been done in England and both there and in Italy they have camera surveillance and sort of use it a little freer than what we do in Sweden. Here, we have so far protected personal integrity, so there you go further, says Olof Lundh.
Can beat Allsvenskan clubs
Supporter culture is an important part of the world of football and sport, and there is a risk that too strict a control could affect the atmosphere and community among supporters. A stricter control can also mean that smaller clubs get a smaller audience, Olof Lundh believes.
– It is something that will perhaps hit Allsvenskan clubs that it is simply not as easy to get to matches, that is the downside of it.
THIS HAS HAPPENED:
May 28: The Stockholm derby between Djurgården and AIK is canceled in the final minutes after Bengals are thrown in from the AIK section. In addition, bangers echo at the Tele2 arena and masked people try to get onto the pitch.
Police – and police dogs – confront the hooligans, where there is also a scuffle. After about an hour’s interruption – and when more than half of the AIK section is emptied – the remaining minutes of the match are played out.
May 29: The Swedish Football Association (SvFF) starts an accident commission. The interest organization Swedish elite football (Sef), the arena owner, match delegates, the police authority and the associations concerned have been invited to the commission to discuss how to avoid a similar incident from occurring in the future.
Minister of Justice Gunnar Strömmer (M) announces that he will have a meeting with Svff to discuss what happened.
AIK’s team captain Alexander Milosevic refuses to criticize his own fans, something that receives criticism from sports minister Jakob Forssmed (KD).
May 30: The five big Allsvenskan clubs (AIK, Hammarby, Djurgården, Malmö FF and IFK Göteborg) have an extra security meeting. Together with Sef, they want to find ways to avoid similar events in the future.
SvFF’s chairman Fredrik Reinfeldt speaks about the scandal and about what he intends to say in the meeting with the Minister of Justice: “We intend to say that we want an application of legislation that will support our exclusion strategy.”
31 May: Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) and the men’s national team’s national team captain Janne Andersson condemn the events during the derby.
June 2: Representatives from the government, SvFF and the police meet to discuss a way forward.