Fireworks in stadiums remain illegal and the legislation will even be tightened. At the same time, the Pro League and Home Affairs want to offer football supporters the opportunity to channel their seemingly unstoppable urge to use fireworks in the stadiums.
“Despite the checks by the clubs, we see that there is still far too much illegal use of pyrotechnics. This often happens in full stands, which poses safety risks for supporters and leads to more injuries every season,” says Minister of the Interior Bernard Quintin.
“The sanctions for this illegal use will therefore be strengthened in the context of the reform of the football law that I am preparing,” the minister said. “But the intention is not to turn our stadiums into monasteries. Football must remain a party. That is why we will launch a pilot project together with the Pro League in which the use of pyrotechnics is supervised by the security services. This way, supporters can continue to provide atmosphere, in a safe and completely legal way.”
“In the coming period, a number of clubs will be selected to set up temporary pilot projects. These projects can only take place after explicit agreement from the local authorities and the fire brigade, and will be intensively supervised and evaluated. The Pro League will start a consultation round to identify the pilot clubs. After the necessary preparations, a number of matches will be selected for each club to roll out the pilot project.”
“This involves supervised use by trained fans, in a defined area and at predetermined times. These tests will be closely monitored,” said Lorin Parys, CEO of the Pro League. “Based on these evaluations, we will examine whether safe and guided use of pyrotechnics can ever be a sustainable part of a safe stadium experience.”
“Outside the context of these pilot projects, the use of pyrotechnics remains prohibited,” emphasizes both the minister and the Pro League. “Lighting fireworks in a full stand remains dangerous and will never be permitted. However, with this initiative we want to investigate whether, in a strictly controlled environment, safe alternatives are possible that reduce incidents and increase safety in and around the stadiums.”
Fireworks before the match between Anderlecht and Union. © BELGIUM
Critical Burns Foundation
The Burns Foundation responds critically to the Pro League’s project regarding the legal use of pyrotechnics in football stadiums. The foundation is still awaiting the concrete content of the project. “This project is actually still an empty box and the legal framework has not yet been tested,” the foundation responds. He also says he is not involved in the project, although the foundation has been investigating the practices together with the football cell for two years. “So we were not informed at all about the content.”
The Burns Foundation underlines its position that the use of pyrotechnics by citizens should be generally prohibited, including in football. According to the foundation, every proposal abroad regarding the controlled use of pyrotechnics has failed because “the hard cores and individuals who consider themselves more important than the rest of the stadium ignore this.” “In Belgium too, such proposals are already dismissed in advance by certain hard core groups,” according to the Burns Foundation. The project will also not curb the problem of illegal pyrotechnic materials in Belgian football stadiums, but it could be an opportunity for some ultras (fanatical supporter groups) to use even more of these resources, it said. In addition, the foundation wonders how the project will translate to supporters of the visiting team. “We are not going to venture into additional predictions for the time being, but we will follow this pilot project with suspicion,” the foundation concludes.
Oscare outraged by pilot project: “Totally wrong signal”
Oscare, the aftercare and research center for people with burns, reacts indignantly to the Pro League’s project on the use of pyrotechnics in football stadiums. “The very idea that people are actively encouraged to work with fire and explosives is absurd. For years we, together with many other organizations, have been fighting against the use of pyrotechnic material by private individuals, precisely because the consequences are so serious and irreversible,” Oscare responds.
The center notes that at least 579 victims have occurred in recent seasons due to the use of pyrotechnic material in and around football stadiums.
By testing a form of legalization of pyrotechnics, the Pro League risks sending the wrong signal, the center said.
Oscare states that no framework can eliminate the fundamental danger of the use of pyrotechnics by private individuals. “The idea that the fire brigade and police should spend their time guiding dangerous behavior, while there are so many real safety needs in our society, is downright shocking,” he said.
Peter Van Rossum, communications manager at Oscare, also states that the Pro League project undermines years of prevention campaigns and normalizes behavior “that we are trying to keep out of our streets, schools and neighborhoods”.
The aftercare and research center emphasizes that an organization with the social impact and visibility such as the Pro League has a clear exemplary function. “What is allowed in a stadium inevitably trickles down to the rest of society. This initiative is therefore in danger of becoming a free pass for private individuals who do not care about the legislation.”
The non-profit organization remains firmly opposed to the purchase, possession and use of pyrotechnics by private individuals. “Not more experiments, but more control, stricter enforcement and clear punishment are needed,” said Oscare. “Real atmosphere does not need fire. What is sold here as an experience is in reality danger, vandalism and a risk to society.”
