Supreme Police Commander does not recognize collective punishment
Published: Wednesday, Feb 14th 2024, 03:00
Updated At: Wednesday, Feb 14th 2024, 03:01
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The head of the Swiss police commanders, Mark Burkhard, has spoken out against the concept of collective punishment at football matches. Although the perpetrators of violence are only a small proportion, many fans show solidarity with them, he said in an interview.
This makes arrests difficult, said Burkhard in an interview with the "Basler Zeitung" published on Wednesday. "We don't want to restrict the freedoms of individual fans," said the President of the Conference of Cantonal Police Commanders. He is also head of the Basel cantonal police force.
There is no interest in stricter measures. "What we want is quite simple: no violence in connection with football matches," he said.
Personalized tickets
A cascade model is currently being developed, said Burkhard. It is intended to standardize the measures against rioting in Switzerland. These include, for example, access controls, reduced or closed guest sectors and mandatory arrival requirements.
In the cascade system, ticket sales with compulsory identification are seen as a last resort if all else fails. Then it would only be a matter of time, said Burkhard in the interview. He assumes that personalized tickets will become an issue again in Switzerland as soon as the legal question has been clarified. Currently, clubs are not allowed to store the data of ticket buyers and pass it on to the authorities.
Protest by football fans
Closed fan stands in football stadiums have recently caused displeasure among fans. Among other things, the south curve at Zurich's Letzigrund stadium was closed at the end of January.
Various fan scenes opposed the measures. They wanted to take a stand against collective punishment with a rally. However, football fans from all over Switzerland decided against a protest march through Bern.
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