Justice minister pledges to get tough on first-time football hooligans

Football hooligans will face stadium bans and other measures from their first offence, under tough new draft legislation outlined by justice minister Ivo Opstelten.

The rules will allow mayors to ban named hooligans from certain areas for long periods or force them to report to the police at match times after their first conviction for serious public order offences.

At the moment mayors can only impose banning orders on first offenders for one or two matches and can’t require hooligans to register their presence with the police.

One year

The draft legislation will allow mayors to ban hooligans from certain parts of town for up to 90 days, spread over a full year. This means they can better target individuals and ensure they cannot attend games for a longer period, Opstelten says. Persisent offenders can be banned for up to five years.

Although the new rules have been drawn up to deal with football-related violence, they can also be applied to other events where public order is an issue, Nos television said.

The draft legislation has been sent to the public prosecution department and legal experts for their recommendations.

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