To combat violence in French football, Sports Minister Amélie Oudéa-Castéra has announced that sanctions against hooligans will be tightened from the beginning of next year. In addition, according to the politician’s plans, clubs should be able to be held more responsible in the future.
“We need a policy of stricter punishments,” said Oudea-Castera before a two-day conference starting this Tuesday with her government’s advisers from the Council of State. The department head indicated that she wanted to take action against violent criminals in the future with “more and probably stricter and more far-reaching stadium bans”.
Travel bans declared void by court
At the beginning of December, an FC Nantes supporter was killed in riots before the Ligue 1 game against OGC Nice. The accident represented the sad low point of a worrying development for French football, after excessively brutal riots by hooligans from various clubs had repeatedly shaken the professional sector in the previous months.
Oudéa-Castéra’s tightening of course is also a consequence of the problems in implementing the travel bans on visiting fans for high-risk games that were only announced at the beginning of the month. Most of the orders from regional authorities based on this were viewed by France’s highest administrative judges as “serious and disproportionate interference with the fundamental freedoms of citizens” and were therefore declared null and void. “I don’t want to have to fight these battles forever,” said the 45-year-old, explaining her new initiative. There were fan protests against the planned sanctions at numerous games in the French Ligue 1.
Football fans are not criminals: Protest in the stands in Lens, France, against politicians’ plans. : Image: Reuters
As a result of Oudéa-Castéra’s initiative, associations such as the league organization LFP and clubs should no longer be able to avoid responsibility. According to the politician, an agreement with the LFP on detailed responsibilities of clubs is planned to be signed at the beginning of the new year.
A comment from Thomas Klemm Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 7 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 30 A comment from Marc Heinrich, Frankfurt Published/Updated: , Recommendations: 37
At the end of October, when dealing with dangerous stones thrown at a team bus, the LFP classified the crime scenes as public spaces and did not want to impose sanctions for this reason. “It is necessary to clarify individual responsibilities regionally, spatially and temporally so that such uncertainties no longer arise,” said Oudéa-Castéra.
