Safety at sports events

1. Safety at sports events

2. III. Internationalstudent conference „Safety in local communities-legal and criminological perspectives“’, Podgorica, 9 April 2019 Safety at sports events Authors: Slaviša Samardžić Student conference on Security and Safety in local communities, Podgorica, Montenegro, 9. 4. 2019

3. What sport should be • For some people sport is a profession, for some people it is a recreation. However, sport should be something that brings people together. Unfortunately it is not the case. There are plenty of incidents at the sports events all around the world which makes sports venues very unsafe places. Here in Balkan we have a brief history of brutal fights at the sports venues. The results of that fights were even death of young people who only came to the stadium to watch their favorite team playing.

4. The most famous incidents • Dinamo Zagreb vs Red Star Belgrade - Maksimir 1990 (also known as Maksimir Chaos) • Partizan Belgrade vs Red Star Belgrade - JNA Stadium 1999 • Red Star Belgrade vs Hajduk Kula - Marakana 2007 • Italy vs Serbia – Luigi Feraris 2010 • Buducnost vs Partizan – SC Moraca 2012 • Partizan Belgrade vs Ludogorets – JNA Stadium 2013 • Serbia vs Albania – JNA Stadium 2014 • Montenegro vs Russia – Stadion pod Goricom 2015

5. Heysel Stadium disaster The Heysel Stadium disaster occurred on 29 May 1985 when mostly Juventus fans escaping from a breach by Liverpool fans, were pressed against a collapsing wall in the Heysel Stadium in Brussels, Belgium, before the start of the 1985 European Cup Final between the Italian and English clubs 39 people—mostly Italians and Juventus fans—were killed and 600 were injured in the confrontation.

6. Hillsborough disaster • The Hillsborough disaster was a fatal human crush during an FA Cup semi-final football match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, on 15 April 1989. With 96 fatalities and 766 injuries, it remains the worst disaster in British sporting history.[1] The crush occurred in the two standing-only central pens in the Leppings Lane stand, allocated to Liverpool supporters. Shortly before kick-off, in an attempt to ease overcrowding outside the entrance turnstiles, the police match commander, chief superintendent David Duckenfield, ordered exit gate C to be opened, leading to an influx of even more supporters to the already overcrowded central pens.

7. The Maksimir Chaos

8. Partizan - Ludogorets

9. Italy - Serbia

10. Serbia - Albania

11. The consequences of incidents • Many people were hurt • Some of them were even killed (17 years old Aleksandar Radović, 29 years old Bris Taton, 25 years old Marko Ivković) • Football clubs and Football Associations had to pay high globes because of hooligans • People do not feel safe going to sport events • Players do not want to join the team because they are afraid of hooligans

12. How to prevent incidents • All hooligans who were involved in incidents should be punished • Security should react quickly when they see even a small incident • Security should not allow hooligans to bring pyrotechnics to sports venues because pyrotechnics can hurt people badly • We can consider permanent ban from stadiums for the most aggressive hooligans • If fans are singing racist or fascists songs they should be warn that if they do not stop match will be suspended because there is no place for that in sport • Security should not allow people to enter the stadium if that would compromise safety (Hillsborough disaster)

13. Final conclusions • In sport there is no place for violence • Players and fans of the opponent team are not your enemies. You should respect them. • There is no place for fascism in sport • There is no place for racism also. Players should not feel threatened just because of their skin color • Hooligans must be removed from stadiums. It is the only way to make people feel safe going to sports events.

14. Thank you