The positive attitude of the parties, despite their individual objections, for the measures to deal with this phenomenon fan violence, said hello the Deputy Minister of Sports Yiannis Vroutsisduring his initial position in the debate on the bill on “Emergency measures to ban the sale of tickets and the presence of spectators at football matches for compelling reasons to protect public order and security” (A’ 203)-Taking measures to prevent and deal with violence in context of sports meetings and other regulations of the Ministry of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports”, in the Plenary.

Mr. Vroutsis clarified that with the package of measures established in the draft law, “we respect the self-government of football, it fully respects both FIFA and UEFA, but it puts safety, which is the right of the state, as another priority” stating that ” we absolutely respect the EPO and the international organizations, but it is the right of our country to ensure in favor of the citizens their safety and we do it with measures of an administrative nature with the DEAB, without interfering in the championships. We are not reducing scores, we are not canceling any team, it is simply our right for the safety of the citizens to close a stadium for fans, as long as it is found that there is illegal behavior.”

Responding to criticism exercised by the general secretary of the KKE, Dimitris Koutsoubas, on the commercialization of sports, the deputy minister said: “I don’t know where in the world something like this happens”, but he agreed with the proposals for “Sports for All” and “School Sports” saying that “these two issues should be highlighted because they are also the antidote to group violence” and announced that there will be “initiatives, extensive consultation with the entire Sports ecosystem and with all parties, not only for these two pillars, but also for the seven that concern, in total and holistically, our sports structure, which will be included in the new sports bill that will come in 2024”.

Regarding the operational safety of sports facilities, Mr. Vroutsis said that “from the end of August 2023 I signed a Ministerial Decision based on which no operating license can be given to any sports facility in the country if it is not safe, that is, if it does not have the element of static adequacy and fire safety” and added “how we put an end to the past and what happened or did not happen and look with optimism to the future”.

The deputy minister underlined that from the discussion of the bill it turns out that all parties “generally agree” and “violence in sport finds us all against each other”. He pointed out that no party, even those that will vote against the bill, “did not disagree with the basic principles of the bill, which is a major reform of policies applied in other countries.” He acknowledged the criticism made by the opposition parties that “indeed, we have been slow to implement things that are implemented in other countries”. Mr. Vroutsis referred to the positive contribution that all the previous laws had, from 1999 until today, saying that “we also build on them, covering gaps”. He pointed out that the provisions of the bill do not establish other criminal sanctions, “as we have reached the ceiling in this field”. The deputy minister stated that for the measures of the bill there was constructive cooperation with all the federations, PAE and KAE, because we want to be allies, as he said, adding that there were technical levels from three co-competent ministries that visited all the stadiums and met with all the PAEs. Mr. Vroutsis stated that the bill brings about “logical changes” and attributed his optimism that these changes will be implemented, to the fact that “they are described step by step, gradually and with timetables from the provisions of the bill”. He pointed out that “the administrative penalties that will be imposed by DEAB will not be subjective, which is why they will work”.

The deputy minister said that “we know that violence does not manifest itself in the stadiums, but it is hatched in them, that’s why we take care with the cameras and the identification on the tickets that the use of technology offers, to close a gap that existed”.

For the infringement clause, Mr. Vroutsis said that from 2021, many millions of euros will be given to Sports through the taxation of “Betting” but with a Ministerial Decision that will determine the percentages, there will be deductions from the teams where delinquent behaviors are manifested and this money will go to the improvement of sports facilities.

Regarding the measures concerning the new operating structure of the fan clubs, he said that “we are not of the mind to close them” but what we are doing “is that there is only one that will click on the PAE, so that each PAE will assume its own responsibility” and at the same time “we aspire to have the elected administrations of the clubs become interlocutors of the minister, where they will discuss all issues , not only dealing with violence but for everything”.