•  
    •  
    • Press Contact

    • For information regarding BCSP activities please contact our Communications Officer

      Radomir Cvetković

    •  
    •  
    • Info BCSP

    • Sign up to receive our e-bulletin.
    •  
    •  
    •  
     
    • Simultanious action is needed to prevent hooliganism in sport

    •  
    • Date: 03 December 2010
       
      Policy paper “Preventing violence in sport events: proposal for a regional framework of cooperation” which was written by researchers of the Centre Sasa Djordjevic and Marko Savković was presented at the Belgrade Center for Security Policy on Friday, 3 December. Present were representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, Ministry of Interior (MoI), Ministry of Youth and Sport (MoS) and the Football Association of Serbia (FAS). The proposal called for the establishment of a new working group of the SECI Center dedicated exclusively to preventing and combating hooliganism as well as to establish contact points in national units of the SECI Centre in the Member States (in Serbia, the Interpol office in Belgrade). Creation of this policy paper was supported by the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) under the TRAIN (Think Tanks Providing Research and Advice through Interaction and Networking) programme.

      First to present was Ana Kosovac, representative of the Ministry of Youth and Sport. She analyzed the progress made in completing the legal framework to combat violence at sport events. She reminded first of the difference in terminology that exists between the violence in sport and the one at sport events, referring to two studies previously supported by the MoS. She also stressed how the Council for prevention of violence at sport events had convened eight times since 29 May 2009, when it was established. She expressed her belief how the results of Council's work were satisfactory since it adopted an Action Plan to combat violence, but also adopted changes to several laws, first regulating the prevention of violence at sporting events, second criminal offenses.

      Chief Inspector Vladimir Stojanov from the Ministry of Interior said how an important achievement of the work of state actors is that as one of 15 preconditions for successful implementation of the Strategy for the development of sport, absence of violence in sport was added. He added how the laws which create a legal framework for combating hooliganism were consistent with the convention of the Council of Europe. Law provided as a specific type of protective measures ban on attending the game. "MoI monitors fan groups prone to violence but the problem is that the violence had moved to the streets." His colleague Alexander Gargenta added that the Ministry of Interior since 2004 has done analysis on the number of incidents, noting how 76% of them happen in relation to sport events.

      MP and member of the Assembly Committee on Security and Defense Zeljko Ivanji devoted his attention to the context in which violence is manifested. He agreed with the earlier assessment made by Minister Snezana Samardzic-Markovic, saying how control of violence has not been a priority for the state. He pointed to the slow work of the courts and asked whether the sanction is the best measure. He warned that the violent groups are organized as an army that can be politically abused. Ivanji in the end said that some sort of consensus still exists, because in the Assembly the adoption of the Law was made possible due to all the deputies.

      The discussion involved Commissioner for Security of the Football Association of Serbia Milivoj Mirkov. He called to separate sport from politics and attempted to explain the challenge of prevention and combating hooliganism on the example of Genoa. There was exchange of information on this occasion, according to Mirkov. The problem was efficiency, and timely intervention.

      Daily newspapers “Politika” reported on this event, follow the link http://www.politika.rs/rubrike/sportski-dan/Predlog-za-regionalnu-saradnju-protiv-nasilja-u-sportu.lt.html .

      Related topics:sport, violence, hooligans, Serbia, paper
    •  
    • Post a comment

    •  
    •  
    • See all comments

    •  
    •