Government calls time on sports hooligans

Police intervene to end the violence following Zurich Lions defeat of Lugano Keystone

The minister for sport, Samuel Schmid, is calling for new measures to curb hooliganism following a spate of violent incidents at sporting events in Switzerland.

“I am concerned at the renewed increase in acts of hooliganism in Switzerland,” Schmid said after violence broke out at two major sporting occasions last weekend.

As Saturday’s ice hockey final in Lugano ended in victory for the Zurich Lions, more than 800,000 television viewers saw the victorious side being pelted with missiles and being verbally abused by angry Lugano fans. The incident followed violent clashes between supporters of the two teams at earlier playoffs in March.

And in Basel on Sunday, football fans of the home team clashed with Sion supporters outside the stadium. Five people had to be taken to hospital.

Lugano is now facing a ban on holding games at home and possible fines if it fails to curb its hooligan element.

But Schmid believes the problem needs to be tackled at a national level. He’s calling for Switzerland’s sporting federations to join government efforts to stamp out hooliganism before it ruins the country’s international sporting image.

Switzerland is bidding to hold both the 2005 hockey world championships and – jointly with Austria – the 2008 European football championships.

“It is particularly bad that the rioters are able to ruin positive developments, such as the opening of the new Basel stadium,” Schmid said. “Developments of this kind call into doubt Switzerland’s ability to stage the 2008 European Championships jointly with Austria.”

FIFA is to make a decision on which country will stage the tournament in March 2003.

swissinfo with agencies