More effort needed on football hooliganism
Football clubs, supporters, local councils and the police are not doing enough to prevent and combat football hooliganism, according to the latest report by the hooliganism monitoring group Auditteam.
The report, which looked at 70 incidents in the 2006-2007 season, says clubs and councils are ignoring guidelines and breaking agreements.
In particular, the rise in offensive chanting from the stands is a cause for concern, says Auditteam. Only FC Utrecht showed a firm line on dealing with racist and discriminatory chants.
Most incidents take place either just outside the stadium or in inner city areas, the report shows. The buses of rival fans are also a popular target for vandalism.
The report particular criticises the way officials dealt with crowd trouble at the friendly match between the Young Holland and Young Moroccan teams in May. Some 47 people were arrested in connection with the event and damage valued at €75,000 was caused to Tilburg stadium.
Other incidents on which the report focussed included serious crowd trouble at two matches involving ADO Den Haag.
Home affairs minister Guusje ter Horst says it is regrettable that the guidelines on dealing with hooligans are not being followed. It is up to people on the ground to take charge, she says. ‘I can hardly go to the stadium and shout ‘boys, stop it’ myself,’ the minister was quoted as saying in todays’ Volkskrant.
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