Football fans risk imprisonment and life stadium bans under new gov’t law
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- The episodes of violence have long caused controversy between State Police and the Football Federation, as the law does not foresee that security at the stadium be entrusted to the police.
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TIRANA, Mar. 11 – The Albanian government proposed severe punishments, including imprisonment, to avoid violent episodes in football stadiums, such as the March 3 attack on the referee of the Superliga Kamza-Laci, who was violated not only by fans who entered the pitch, but also from Kamza Club heads.
At a meeting with the Football Federation, where he went accompanied by some government cabinet members and heads of parliamentary committees, Prime Minister Edi Rama stated that the government would intervene in the Criminal Code and make crossing the field’s white lines and entering into the pitch punished with three years of prison.
“Whoever crosses the white lines and enters the green carpet is a physical threat to those who are there doing their job, be it footballers, or referees. So it is necessary to urgently discuss it and apply this penalty immediately, at least three years, Rama added.
In addition to imprisonment, the government is also considering also overviewing stadium expulsion for life for perpetrators.
The episodes of violence have long caused controversy between State Police and the Football Federation, as the law does not foresee that security at the stadium be entrusted to the police.
To overcome this situation, Rama proposed implementing a formula already tested as he said in Germany or Spain “where the interior ministries, in cooperation with the Federation and the Professional League, agreed and signed the so-called Security Regulation for stadiums.”
According to Rama there is a need for an agreement and in this agreement the police should be directly involved in the security of the match, even within the field according to the defined needs and under the terms of the agreement in cooperation with the Federation.
Rama also stated that “the problem of violence and the interventions in the Criminal Code must be done quickly and give a clear message that nobody will be tolerated at this point.”
