|
 Croatia
moves to rid sport of violence
Croatian schoolchildren could soon be taught how
to behave like good sports fans in an attempt to stamp out the
hooliganism and racism that have marred the country's image in
recent years.
The initiative, the brainchild of a teacher
Bozica Uroic, has been devised to coincide with the world handball
championships that Croatia hosts in January but the primary targets
are soccer fans, known for violent behaviour, racist abuse and
clashing with police at home and abroad.
"We have seen enough disorder at sports events. We want to make
those events a place for joy and family gathering, not a field for
vulgar manners and destruction," said Bosko Lozica from the Zagreb
city authorities.
The Croatian FA was fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($26,620) for racist
behaviour by local fans during a World Cup qualifier against England
in Zagreb last month.
Over the last three years, the Croatian FA has had to pay out more
than 200,000 francs for misbehaviour by fans at home and abroad,
including fights on Malta and in Hungary and insulting chants during
the Euro 2008 quarter-final against Turkey.
A group of Dinamo Zagreb fans, the Bad Blue Boys, clashed violently
with Czech police in Prague during a UEFA Cup tie against Sparta
last week. Some 300 hundred were arrested in the scuffles and eight
policemen were injured.
Top local soccer games between Dinamo and their main rivals, Hajduk
Split, are considered 'high risk', attracting a heavy police
presence.
The new project, dubbed "The Fans' Etiquette", would go to the
sports ministry for approval soon, Lozica said.
TEACHER'S HANDBOOK
The idea came from Zagreb schoolteacher Bozica Uroic who wrote a
handbook on the rules of civilised behaviour at sports events, from
leaving home, to attending a game and returning safely.
"My father was a passionate Dinamo fan for decades but in the early
1990s he once came home saying he would never go to the stadium
again because of vandalism," Uroic told Reuters. "After all these
years of problems I felt an urge to do something to help young
people who perhaps don't know how to behave."
Her idea was to hold presentations in primary and secondary schools,
she said -- first in the capital Zagreb, then elsewhere in Croatia
-- to show pupils why violence was bad and how they should behave to
make a game an enjoyable event for everyone.
"I think they should hear what sport is really about, what happened
in the past when violence prevailed, like the famous Heysel tragedy,
and how they should look after themselves, others and public
property when attending the games," she said.
Thirty-nine people were killed and hundreds injured when a wall
collapsed in the Heysel stadium in Brussels after fans charged
before the 1985 European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool.
The tragedy prompted Europe to take a tougher stance on soccer
hooliganism.
Uroic said that presentations, reinforced by visits from popular
soccer players or other athletes, could also be held at soccer fans'
groups.
"Many fans don't even realise that, for example, it is not
acceptable to boo when a national anthem of another country is
performed, or that any destruction of property would ultimately
bring costs to their own families...not to mention if someone gets
hurt or something worse," Uroic said.
VIDEO CLIPS
The Croatian FA welcomed the initiative and said it was ready to
help by involving players and broadcasting its own video clips.
"We have been dealing with this problem for some time and we want to
help educate young people by promoting tolerance and joy of sport,"
said Zorislav Srebric, the FA's secretary-general.
The leader of an association of Dinamo Zagreb fans, Denis Seler,
said he was not familiar with the project but believed it could be
helpful.
"It seems to me that incidents at the stadiums have been reduced in
recent years. There were cases of throwing flares on the pitch in
recent games, which we don't support, but it was a reaction to a
string of meagre performances and, consequently, the overall
atmosphere around the club," he said.
Drazen Lalic, a leading local sociologist, said prevention was the
key, rather than the repression to which authorities mostly resorted
in the past.
"However, I'm not convinced that going to schools alone will be
enough. It would be crucial to go directly to places where soccer
fans gather...talk to them in their premises, bars, join them during
journeys. There are maybe 1,000 problematic fans in the country but
so far there has been no prevention," he said.
In a separate attempt to tame violence in stadiums, Deputy Prime
Minister Djurdja Adlesic visited London this month to talk to
British officials about how they tackled similar problems.
|
