Unite against violence

UEFA President Michel Platini has issued a heartfelt plea for the protection of football against violence and racism, and says that the creation of an effective European partnership between governments, police forces and sports bodies would help safeguard football's soul and values.

Terrible ills
At a European Union/UEFA conference in Brussels addressing violence and racism in sport, Mr Platini said that "sport, and in particular football, is being rendered gangrenous in certain countries by these terrible ills". He reminded the audience that at the start of the year, in Brussels, in the presence of European Commission president José Manuel Barroso, he had called – provocatively, as he put it – for the creation of a European sports police force to act against fan violence, corruption, money-laundering, doping and illegal betting.

Social problem
"The popularity of our sport sometimes attracts extremist minority groups who infiltrate supporters clubs, invade stadiums, cross borders and seek to spread their nihilist ideology," he said. "Violence is a problem of society, and football is at the heart of our social life – it is unfortunately natural that fanatics seek to seize our sport, as it is such a visible and popular activity. We therefore need to protect sport and give judges the means to have laws respected.

Filling a vacuum
"Stadium bans exist in a certain number of countries, and often at judicial level, they do not exist in others. At the moment, no bans are applicable at European level. Here, there is an obvious imbalance. The idea of a European sports police force aims notably at filling this vacuum in the EU's provisions.

European mechanism
"UEFA already stimulates partnerships between national associations, clubs and national police forces. But this is not enough. Sports organisations, governments and public forces must co-operate. We must no longer carry out makeshift repairs and take cosmetic measures which only temporarily mask the problems instead of dealing with them efficiently. This is why we need a European mechanism which would allow the centralisation of information, the application of judicial measures beyond borders, the training of specialists and the co-ordination of operations and interventions."

Continent-wide bans
Mr Platini urged the application at European level of elements such as comfortable stadiums without barriers and with trained stewards, in which clubs would be responsible for security. Police would play a discreet but targeted role, and strong judicial measures and efficient exchange of information would lead to violent fans being banned from stadiums throughout Europe.

UEFA's powers
The President said UEFA acted with the means and powers available to the body, notably in the campaign against racism, and through strict stadium security criteria. "But UEFA does not have the power to draw up a list of people banned from stadiums. Nor has it the power to arrest and give prison terms to racists and extremists present inside and outside stadiums," he stressed.

Football's values
"Football and sport in general exist to promote values of honesty, courage, fraternity, tolerance and peace. Football integrates and welcomes. It excludes, discriminates against and persecutes no one. I note with relief our collective determination to prevent the black sheep from causing harm. For this, a European partnership between governments, police and sports organisations is the only way of guaranteeing that sport returns to being a pacific celebration of life.

Football is a game
"We must never forget that football is not the dramatic images that we have seen recently on our television screens. Football is a game, which fills millions of children across Europe with wonder, to which dozens and dozens of volunteers dedicate themselves with passion and devotion. It is a game which allows children to grow up with simple but essential values such as respect for rules and opponents, or to reach beyond themselves. It is a game which allows adults to rediscover the child's soul inside themselves.

Joy and friendship
"This is why we owe it all to ourselves to work relentlessly to establish the necessary conditions through which the game itself stays at the forefront, through which joy and friendship prevail, and to guarantee that the players and officials in a match, as well as spectators, can rejoice in a safe, comfortable and protected environment each time they go to a stadium."