Football: anti-violence measures appreciated by professionals


Solene Leroux

After a first part of the season enamelled by recurring incidents in the stadiums, the government took anti-violence dies for Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Guest from Europe Midi, Sylvain Kastendeuch, co-president of the national union of footballers professionals, welcomes an “unprecedented mobilization”.

Long-awaited anti-violence measures in the football world. The last straw was the assault on Dimitri Payet and the fiasco of the OL-OM meeting with a scramble on decision-making and the decision to stop or not the meeting. Thursday morning, the government decided that a match will now be systematically and definitively stopped when a player or a referee is injured by a projectile. For a less serious event, but problematic, a crisis unit will have to rule within 30 minutes on the holding or not of the match. One which will be composed of officials, referees, representatives of public authorities, but no longer club presidents due to conflict of interest, as in Lyon a month ago.

Plastic bottles banned from July 2022

Another measure: plastic bottles will be banned in stadiums from next summer. Disposable and recyclable cups, then water fountains will gradually replace them. The clubs will also have to install safety devices at their expense: both anti-projection with removable nets to counter any projectiles, but also anti-intrusion with rubber bands to prevent invasion of the field. The overall philosophy is to target individual behavior and stop punishing 50,000 people. There are currently 104 people banned from stadium in France. It’s not a lot, but there could be a lot more very soon if the incidents continue. We are going in particular towards a nominative ticket office.

Sylvain Kastendeuch, co-president of the national union of professional footballers and former player underlines an unprecedented state mobilization: “When three ministers, that of the Interior, the Minister of Seals and the Minister of Sports take up a subject, c rather, they want to treat it both seriously and with the necessary responsibility. ” According to him, these measures should “make players and referees more secure”, this is also “the main objective: to prevent actors on the ground from being victims of such malicious acts”.

The desire to find peaceful lands

Has he observed a change in mentalities among the supporters? Not so easy to decide according to the former libero. “I do not know if it is the evolution of society which means that at times in any case, certain individuals manage to express their frustration.” He is convinced that “the taking into account by the public and sports authorities of these incidents will ensure that these incidents now disappear and that solutions are found”. Above all, Sylvain Kastendeuch “thinks that we will once again be able to go to stadiums without experiencing such moments”.



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