Εκεί στον ΚΟΑ έχετε μήνυμα…
Κραυγή απόγνωσης από τον φίλο Αχιλλέα για την «κάρτα φιλάθλου»…
(Το κείμενο από τον Αχιλλέα είναι γραμμένο στα αγγλικά)
Dear KOA….
Unbelievable and illogical are the only words I can describe your announcement regarding fan ID cards. As APOEL fans my 2 sons 10 and 7 and I are defined as hooligans as are the rest of our supporters by you. Why on earth does anyone need a consent form for ME to take MY children to a football match? Why was this not put to a vote for the fans to decide? If you really wanted to stop hooligans then try asking the police to eradicate the problem. Train police to handle specific types of events such as football matches. Stop being a “Banana Republic”!
We are season ticket holders and APOEL know exactly who we are, where we sit etc so why are you inconveniencing thousands of people to register to your so called “fan card”. If I had known about your decision I would never have purchased three season tickets! I would have watched the slow death of football on TV.
Many countries in Europe show that fan ID cards only lead to one thing: fewer spectators. And it does not enhance security, but rather tends to move problems around, and doesn’t keep the fans from causing trouble. For the same reason the use of fan ID cards has been aborted in Belgium, will be dropped in Poland after this season, and is unfortunately still causing lower attendance and even boycotts in Italy, Hungary and Turkey.
It is well documented that it does not improve the safety and security situation at the stadium. The preventive effect is non-existent. These kinds of solutions are giving a false picture of the fan scene. My two sons and I sit in an area full of thousands of fans that support their teams peacefully, yet we are being victimised.
Mandatory away cards do not enhance stadium security and it has no proven preventive effects. Even the Council of Europe´s Committee on Spectator Violence has commented on the use of away cards in a report looking at Croatian football:
«The scheme appears to be empowering rather than excluding or marginalizing the influence of risk supporters. The scheme has resulted in traditionally rival supporters uniting, and working together, in opposition to the scheme. Certain elements within the established fan groups may have a vested interest in this opposition (to avoid detection etc.) but the strength of the resistance goes much deeper and, moreover, appears to be deterring thousands of potential well-intentioned supporters from attending even high profile matches. This outcome is by no means unique to Croatia. European experience demonstrates that restrictive ticketing schemes do not provide an alternative to effective exclusion arrangements, nor, in isolation, can they hope to generate the kind of safe, secure and welcoming atmosphere that is likely to encourage a wider cross section of the community to attend matches. Furthermore, potential spectators can be deterred from attending matches by the prospect of having to join a ticket registration or voucher scheme, not least because such schemes are often perceived as indicative of the football experience being neither safe nor secure.”
So is Cypriot football so unsafe that a measure like this is needed? Most incidents leading to arrests happen outside the stadium – so how could an away card increase safety and security? Where are your statistics?
Why is Cyprus introducing a system which was tried but abolished in Belgium, is currently abolished by the government in Poland after several years – both times because it proved useless for effective prevention and enhancing security in football?
A system which led to up to 90% attendance drops in Turkish, Italian and Hungarian football at some clubs, and for major national sponsors pulling out of the game! I personally hope that Cypriot fans will raise their voices loudly and clearly against this. And even more I hope that the football authorities will back off from their plans and consider other means of prevention, together with their fans. This away card is neither a business opportunity nor enhancing security. It is nothing but damaging the game for all.
Football governing bodies have turned a blind eye to the fact that these kinds of schemes do not improve safety and security in football at all. Instead of liaising with fan groups you have gone against the majority and introduced this scheme, very undemocratic for a society that prides itself with the birth of democracy…
Best Regards
Achilleas
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