January 30 – Greek Deputy Minister of Sports of Greece, Yiannis Vroutsis, has said that football fans will be able to return to stadia on February 13. Vroutsis also presented a raft of new measures that the Greek government will take to deal with any fan violence.
Stadiums in Greece were closed to supporters last December after a police officer was hit with a flare during a fan riot in Athens.
Under the new measures in Greece, fans will be able to buy a ticket for the match but only through a mobile application, via which they will have to identify themselves.
“From February 13, all the stadiums open again, open to the world. The new DEAB (Permanent Committee for Combating Violence) that we are forming in the law begins its operation. They open with draconian measures which must be implemented, otherwise the penalties will be heavy and the next match will be held behind closed doors. The key will be no subjective judgement. The one who will be offended and will want to call and intervene will know that he cannot do anything,” said Vroutsis.
“From March 6 the framework for cameras everywhere comes into force and if there are none then the next home match will be played without fans. From Tuesday, April 9, all stadiums will have the electronic ticket with the identification of each person. Everyone will get in with this process.”
Vroutsis added that the new ticket system which will resemble electronic boarding passes used at airports will have to be installed by all 14 top-division clubs.
“From now on, when a supporter watches a soccer game, we will know his or her name, phone number, home address and assigned seat,” the minister said.
Contact the writer of this story, Aleksander Krassimirov, at moc.l1714179416labto1714179416ofdlr1714179416owedi1714179416sni@o1714179416fni1714179416