July 20, 2022 - A new security protocol for high-risk football matches in Croatia has been introduced.
At the Ministry of Internal Affairs headquarters, the Protocol on security at high-risk matches was signed, reports Gol.hr.
The protocol was signed by the Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Internal Affairs, Davor Božinović, and the president of the Croatian Football Federation, Marijan Kustić.
The signed Protocol regulates the cooperation in the actions of HNS, clubs, and the police at high-risk matches, in the stadium area and at the stadium, during the preparation and implementation of measures for the arrival of fans at the stadium, their stay at the stadium, and their return from the stadium, all to prevent illegal behavior.
The President of the Croatian Football Federation, Marijan Kustić, thanked the Ministry of the Interior for adopting and signing this Protocol, which will be of help to the clubs and significantly contribute to increasing the safety of fans in stadiums, at Supersport HNL matches and, of course, the Croatia national team:
"We as a Federation will do everything to encourage better cooperation between clubs and, of course, cooperation between clubs and their fans," concluded the president of the Croatian Football Federation.
"The fact is that the security aspect is important to hold football matches, and the police are the ones who take care of public order and safety. The police are responsible for any public gathering, and football matches, especially some, gather tens of thousands of people, and that's why we decided that, in agreement with everyone, we will create a procedural document that will provide answers to everything that has been shown to us in practice as a possible source of unrest, dissatisfaction, and even physical confrontations," Minister Božinović explained.
The Protocol precisely prescribes the procedures that will have to be followed, and they were adopted after an agreement with the Croatian Football Federation, the football clubs, and their security commissioners, or the people who are in charge of the security aspect of the Croatian football clubs.
"We worked intensively on preparing this protocol and did not stay only within the Croatian framework. As you know, we went to Geneva and spoke with the leading people of UEFA, who participate in all these, especially international matches. We explained and presented how we intend to solve it, and I can freely say that we have come to an understanding," Minister Božinović explained.
Minister Božinović also stated that all high-risk matches would be coordinated from the headquarters of the Croatian police, headed by the deputy director general of the police Damir Barić, who was accompanied by the director general of the police Nikola Milina and the head of the administration of public order and security, Dragan Tokić.
"In the operational sense, nothing will be left to chance from the moment the match is declared high-risk, which is declared by the Police Directorate based on some dynamic indicators," said Minister Božinović.
He also explained how they were guided by the common goal of creating conditions in which people would freely come to football matches, in which families would go as they used to, and that everyone would feel as safe as possible. As an additional goal, which, according to what was seen after the Super Cup match and the 1st round of the HNL, is being achieved. He pointed out that reports are written after the matches.
"The standard we are setting now must be the standard for the time to come, and there will certainly be no relaxation when we talk about the behavior of all those who are responsible for security both on the side of HNS and the clubs," concluded Minister Božinović.
The most important thing to point out is the defined rule that should avoid a new "Desinec case" and the clash between Torcida and the police on the highway, that is, the problems that preceded the last derby at Maksimir last season.
- In cooperation with the representative of the visiting fans, the visiting club will provide refreshments (drinks and food) for the visiting fans during the trip to the match and when returning from the match.
- The home club will provide sanitary facilities and access to drinks and food at the locations of the planned gathering of visiting fans upon their arrival and/or in the stadium area.
- In communication with the visiting club, if necessary, the police will, following the security assessment, implement additional measures to secure the locations intended for visiting fans to rest on the way to the football match and the way back.
The protocol can be read in its entirety here.
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