Yuri Demidov, Head of the Protection of Public Order Department of the Russian Interior Ministry
More than 1.5 million people visited this year's football games in the country at all levels. The vast majority of visitors come to watch football with a positive attitude. However, we cannot neglect the rather alarming fact that this year there is a tendency towards an increase in administrative violations committed at stadiums and in their vicinity. This year more than 2500 people were held accountable for administrative violations - offences at football games. Unfortunately, there is an increase. The number of pyrotechnics and other prohibited items used during football matches has increased. This is an administrative offence. Unfortunately, the responsibility for it is not as serious as we would like it to be. Using pyrotechnics, shouting obscene group chants, producing offensive banners with sometimes illegal content - all this, of course, has a very negative effect on the situation around football. Today in the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation there was a very thorough discussion of the federal law on the preparation for the World Cup in 2018. A special federal law has been prepared. The main initiator is the Ministry of Sport of Russia. This law defines the schedule and organization of preparations in all aspects for the World Cup.
Undoubtedly, perhaps you will agree that one of the essential, most important elements is the safety of football matches. We saw it this time during broadcasts of the European Football Championship, which was held this year in Poland and Ukraine. The MIA in general conceptually certainly supports this bill; together with the Ministry of Sport, public organizations, the Russian Football Union, the Russian Football Premier League and the All-Russian Fan Association we prepared for law enforcement and security measures at sports' and other mass events. According to the government's decision regarding the bill, and this is already the second bill, which is organically linked with the federal law on the FIFA World Cup in 2018... But the second bill is now controlled by the Ministry of Sport of Russia. In the near future it will also be, taking in consideration the discussion, finalized and will be sent to the country's parliament, the State Duma, and will then be evaluated by the Federation Council. With this bill, for the first time we will and should legally define such terms as "spectator" and "controller-organizer" at football matches; sanctions and responsibilities of organizers of football matches and sports stadium owners to ensure safety and security. It provides that the safety regulations and rules of conduct of spectators will be approved in the future in connection with the federal law by the government of Russia.
Given international practice, especially in England, Germany, Italy and the recent legislation in Poland and Ukraine, the concept of an administrative ban at football games and events is being introduced for people brought to administrative responsibility for illegal actions on football fields. This administrative arrest is a worldwide practice, I mean a ban on attending football matches for the most egregious, so to speak, violators of public order and safety. Certainly, it is required to clearly define a security system at the legislative level and at the level of the government; the system of citizens' access to the stadium; authorities of managers, stewards and police in order to secure a security check of citizens in order to suppress attempts to bring prohibited items, including fireworks; the regulation of security issues near the stadium; transportation logistics; the availability of technical systems of visual control; video surveillance, and a number of other points. All I'm saying, if I generalize it, is about the law on fans. Although in fact, of course, the law on fans does not exist on its own. It is legislation enforcing the law during sports matches and, above all, during football.
Vadim Dengin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sport and Youth Affairs
A fan in general is a man, and probably many are present here as well, who with great pleasure goes to cheer for a team, paint himself certain colours and comes in a good mood to watch a match. He is calm when he leaves the match, he goes home without encountering any problems, celebrates his victory or becomes a little upset, but hopes that the team spirit will rise up and they will win the next game. Since we are talking about a law on fans, we are talking about those members of the fan community who create and escalate the situation on purpose and who are called hooligans. The situation that occurred with the burning of the flag of Ataturk - is out of the ordinary. This means that people did know, since it is not because they do not realize which flag they were burning, and who was drawn on it. They understood very well that they also drove a wooden stake in the country's international relations, that is, relations between Russia and Turkey. Therefore, we are now talking about the fact that it will be either an amendment to the law on sports, which will include, respectively, the rights and obligations of fans, that is, people, members who attend sports matches. But believe me, most of them are decent people. They are wealthy people, happy people who come and who do not need to escalate an atmosphere. There is also another problem. I have already seen sites on the Internet and in the blogosphere, many say that the police are frankly not nice to those who come to cheer for their team in a moderate way. But we must understand that it is an area of high risk, and since we have this happening every day and these collisions occur more than once… And especially when you are sitting in the stands, and your friend is for example cheering for Locomotiv FC and you are cheering for Spartak FC, you are not going to throw a coin at him - you are an adequate person, and this must be understood. And our society needs to provide a concrete answer in the form of a law.
Vsevolod Alekseev, Executive Director of the All-Russian Fans Association
In order to solve any problem, we must admit that the problem exists. On the part of the All-Russian Fans Association we recognize that there is a problem of offences at football matches from fans. There is. But there is also the problem of violation of legal rights and interests of those same fans at matches, which often provokes fans to commit these offences. On the first issue we talk willingly and actively. On the second issue, we have to speak, but it often gets changed, overwritten, or neglected. Meanwhile, the current situation is such that a fan, despite the fact that the whole civilized world and the professional football position are meant as a game for fans, is the most powerless subject of football. Coming to the stadium, we are well aware that our rights are being infringed once we get near sports facilities. Our police officers, in addition to a security check, also undertake another function of experts and decide the content of which banners can be allowed and which cannot be allowed. It would seem that we have abusive, obscene things that are prohibited to show. There are symbols forbidden by law. If a banner does not contain any offensive or obscene things, no illegal symbols, in principle, there is no reason not to allow it. But, if a head of an operational headquarters decides that your banner is not good, then you will not pass with your banner, even if it fully complies with the legislation. Unfortunately, at our stadiums, despite the fact that according to the existing law "On the Police," the police assist the organizers of sports events, in principle, in many areas - in Moscow this problem is somehow resolved, in Moscow and in the suburbs - in many regions a chief of police, a chief of operational headquarters can say at a game that he does not care who the match delegate is, who the representative of the Premier League is, who the club representative is, the organizers and all the others. If he says "no" it means "no." That is all. This in fact applies to many things in football. To let the fans, even, one might say, satisfy their physiological needs for the bathroom, detention after matches - all these things, of course, concern fans. They often escalate the situation in the stands and additionally often contribute to committing offences at football matches. Of course, this does not change the fact that the fans in fact do often commit offences, it does happen. One has indeed to fight against this so that these activities do not keep other football fans from enjoying the game, the match.
Alexander Meytin, head of security of the Russian Football Premier League
We all deal with security issues. We all wish that stadiums would become the perfect environment for people to come their with children, their wives, watch football, have fun and quietly go home. We all wish that, but unfortunately, we cannot solve the problem of security at stadiums. And unfortunately, today we all act together by the norms, because there are no laws clearly regulating te actions of certain services, fans today.
Firstly, the problem we are facing is very serious. Secondly, we are on the eve of the World Cup, and of course, the claims presented by UEFA do not correspond to what exists today in our country. How should this issue be resolved? We have repeatedly suggested that it can be resolved only with the help of necessary complex legislative measures. I do not think that the changes to be introduced in the law On Sports will in any way change the situation. The situation can be changed if, first, we must ... What should we do first? We have to clearly divide responsibilities between clubs, police and stadiums, because today we have the story of a circular firing squad. Next, it is necessary at the governmental level to adopt rules of conduct of fans, because each stadium has its own rules. That leads to a situation when people come from St. Petersburg to watch Anzhi FC, but they have their own rules. This leads to a lot of problems with fans. Because they go with a knowledge of a certain set of rules, they arrive there and are told: "What are you to us, you’ve got your own rules?" They should be unified. Then many controversial issues will be withdrawn. Changes to the administrative and penal code should be introduced immediately. The penalties that exist now for offences that occur during football, unfortunately, do not stop anyone. People should know that if they commit an offence at a stadium then they will have an increased responsibility, because they are observed by thousands of people, broadcasts are interrupted, often people watch football in many different countries of the world and in principle, judging from what's happening at a stadium, they assess the situation in that country and in that society in general.
