A decade ago, Spanish football began to talk about biometric access control to stadiums. The application of this measure, encouraged by the then Secretary of State for Security, Francisco Martínez, was promoted after the murder of an ultra from Deportivo de La Coruña in a massive fight between fans of the Galician team against radicals from Atlético de Madrid.
For a time, in some Spanish fields such as the Vicente Calderón or the Santiago Bernabéu, fans contributed their fingerprints and facial features for electronic identification systems, a leading standard in sports security but which fell on deaf ears after a legal report was carried out. by the Data Protection Agency. The public body has recently made several requirements to different LaLiga clubs that already had this type of system installed to control animation funds.
“Implementing facial biometrics will allow clubs to improve the safety of attendees in the stands”
The dilemma that arises around facial recognition in soccer is whether it violates individual rights and freedoms, and is therefore illegal. “The main task of implementing this technology is to increase the security of attendees in the stands, since people can be identified and verify if they are authorized or if they may pose a risk to other individuals,” he explains. Mariona Campmany, Marketing Director of Veridas, a company that has implemented this technology in the turnstiles of the Osasuna stadium to access the venue.
It is not mass surveillance, it is a private and voluntary system
“This is a 100% voluntary system and the member chooses freely, being able to unsubscribe at any time and with the possibility of continuing to use the rest of the access systems whenever they wish”, the representative of this Navarrese company elaborates. To use this system, fans just need to register. And they can do it online from any device. «It is enough to scan your ID, your club subscription and take a selfie. Once done, they can access the premises with their face, without having to provide anything else, “they indicate in Veridas, who also emphasize that” it must be clear not to confuse this with video surveillance. The company indicates that in this particular case of the Navarrese club, there are 9,800 people who access the stadium through this method. «The identity verification carried out by our solution is only done against the database of registered users, who have decided to be part of it; requires that users be at a distance of one meter, “they stress.
Although no system is 100% invulnerable, if there were a data hack, those responsible for Veridas affirm that this vector could not be used for identity theft, withdraw money at an ATM or unlock a phone, for example.
El Sadar, the Osasuna stadium, is the first Spanish venue to allow access to its members via facial recognition
Football plays a difficult match against the current data protection. Technology is increasingly present in the sports sector, revolutionizing the fan experience, but it can also become a great ally when it comes to avoiding unwanted episodes seen throughout this season, such as pitch invasions at the end of the campaign. or the racist chants towards players like Vinicius. “This technology, together with artificial intelligence, allows the security team to verify and authenticate a person in real time and can even take aging into account,” says Rafael Conde del Pozo, spokesman for Softtek, a company dedicated to digital solutions. The expert indicates that all this implies registration and protection of data, “for this reason the policies and related practices must be transparent and accessible, respecting at all times the regulations and laws to establish safeguards and guarantee respect for the rights and privacy of viewers.” ».
You cannot be forced to accept biometric control
LaLiga prepared a letter in March in which it asked the Government for help in the process of installing biometric control systems in the animation funds of the stadiums, an action that they consider vital for the control of fans and the elimination of racist behavior and violent in the stadiums.
Why is this system still not regulated if it is beneficial for security? «Community laws prohibit the use of biometric data without consent, and the data protection law of our country prohibits the collection of this information, although it contemplates the exceptions of essential public interest and the free and informed consent of the users. Nowadays, a person cannot be forced to accept biometric control, so now the only solution is to give two options: access with a ticket or through facial recognition”, explains Conde del Pozo, who defends that the technology In football, it must not only arrive to deliver justice with implementations such as VAR.
“The objective of every club is for the fan experience to be optimal in a safe sports environment, and to achieve this it is essential to involve authorities, event organizers, security teams and, ultimately, the spectators themselves,” emphasizes the Softtek expert.
Among the virtues in the implementation of a verification system, the person in charge of Veridas points to other virtues such as “enabling other services such as face payment in stadium establishments or other experiences designed for members and subscribers.” Campmany defends that unlike other security measures that traditionally meant greater friction for users, biometrics is innovative in the sense that “it combines greater security for all attendees while offering a fast and comfortable user experience ».
There are those who do not want to hear anything about this technique even when it can increase security in the fields. French authorities warned Metz that it would not allow cameras to identify its fans who were banned from the stadium. In Denmark, for example, they have allowed it, but only for the Brondby stadium. In the Netherlands, Ajax uses facial authentication technology at the Johan Cruijff Arena to verify the identity of ticket buyers and improve the security of its fans. In Italy facial recognition has been part of a long debate with voices for and against. The matter remains in the spotlight due to the repeated chants and racist insults to certain Serie A players.
2023-06-24 14:57:10
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