Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-05-18-Speech-4-263"
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"en.20000518.11.4-263"2
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"Mr President, we must take these issues of hooliganism seriously. We know now that there are tens of millions of people who are passionate about this sport and that, since the World Cup was won by France, they have been impatiently awaiting Euro 2000. Football has become a sport of the masses and we must think about the safety of our children, our little brothers and the youngsters who frequent the stadiums.
We cannot therefore just say that there are risks and there will always be risks. We must try to counter this phenomenon of hooliganism to the best of our ability. I say this because we cannot allow the good image of genuine supporters to be tarnished by the actions of a few violent extremists who use these major gatherings as a pretext for carrying out unacceptable acts.
The motion is good in that it indicates that adequate safety measures must be taken. During the last World Cup you will remember that hooligans committed very serious acts of violence. One in particular involved an attack on a police officer who was in a coma for a long time and who is now paralysed for life. All this is not inevitable and we must find the means, for example, of punishing hooligans in the countries of the European Union in which they commit their offences.
In this respect I believe there to have been a recent example in France which is very important. For years, under the Nazi banner, French hooligans monopolised a stand at the Parc des Princes in Paris. They took advantage of matches to vent their hatred, chant Nazi slogans and chase blacks and Arabs on leaving the ground. The Paris St. Germain club allowed this to happen and even ended up blocking access to the stand in question for any dark skinned person on the pretext of safety. Following a complaint from the French association, SOS-Racisme, and faced with the threat of prosecution, the club undertook to end this behaviour and to no longer allow the hooligans into the stadium by strictly screening people as they enter. Before every match, right to the end of the season, Paris St. Germain now shows an anti-racist video clip which celebrates the values of friendship and brotherhood and the pleasures of the sport.
This proves that action can be taken and that violence is not inevitable. I truly believe that, when you think about what football has become, with tens of thousands of youngsters in these stadia, this shows that we really must try to be careful and not take these matters lightly."@en1
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