Swiss hooligans stopped from travelling to Euro 2016

FC Basel hooligans storm the pitch in May 2014 after beating FC Aargau Keystone

Up to 800 known football hooligans across Switzerland will be prevented from travelling to the Euro 2016 football championships in neighbouring France this summer, a police official has confirmed.

The Swiss police have set up a special unit to monitor the 780 known troublemakers – who have received Swiss stadium bans – in order to prevent them from attending Euro 2016 matches in France, which takes place from June 10 to July 10.

“If a dangerous person wants to attend a match, we can initiate a banning order to stop them leaving Switzerland,” Roman van Eyck from the Federal Police (Fedpol) told Swiss public radio, RTS on Tuesday.

The Swiss Hooliganism Monitor, managed by the Fribourg cantonal police and Fedpol, is responsible for monitoring violent football fans and can issue fines to any troublemakers who plan to travel to France to attend matches.

Van Eyck said cantonal police can also force known hooligans to present themselves once a day at regional police stations to ensure they have not left Swiss territory.

Europe wide alert

Police across Europe are gearing up for the big tournament in France. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland police have also announced that they will be preventing up to 2,000 known football hooligans from travelling to Euro 2016.

This is part of a crackdown aimed at helping the French authorities focus on the more important job of keeping the event safe from terrorism.

In the wake of deadly attacks in Paris last November and Brussels this year, Europe is on high alert and authorities are concerned that Euro 2016 could be targeted, especially the fan zones where spectators gather to watch games on large screens.

Up until the end of May, France remains in a state of emergency that was declared after the deadly November 13 attacks in Paris. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls wants to extend it to cover the European Championship and the Tour de France but the move will require approval from parliament.