The authorities want to adopt measures in January to prevent fan violence in front of and in the stadium.
The behavior of the YB fans in the game against Grasshopper Club Zurich set off a spiral of measures and protests.
Michael Buholzer / Keystone
Will there be a big protest by football supporters in Bern on Saturday? Various fan organizations have been mobilizing for a demonstration in the federal capital for several days. They want to defend themselves against the “spiral of escalation” that the authorities have allegedly set in motion against football fans. What exactly is planned is not clear. The fan websites only say that more information will follow on Friday. The authorities in Bern also don’t know any details: Bern city security director Reto Nause (center) tells the NZZ that an application for approval has not yet been received.
The background to the protest is the announcement by cities and cantons that they will take tougher action against riots in the future. They are fed up after the stricter hooligan concordat has been in force for over ten years without fan violence being under control. Riots, damage to property and pyrotechnic excesses in the stadiums are still as much a part of the football weekend as the celebration after a goal. Now the authorities want to tighten the screws.
Suspension because fans demolished a bus
Representatives of the cantonal and municipal licensing authorities came together to form a working group for this purpose some time ago. “This will meet in January and, if possible, adopt a concept in order to be able to act against riots and fan violence in the future according to uniform rules,” confirms Nidwalden security director Karin Kayser-Frutschi. The centrist politician is co-president of the Conference of Cantonal Justice and Police Directors (KKJPD). This so-called cascade model has been under consultation since September.
The YB supporters will already feel this weekend what it means if the licensing authorities react more sharply to fan violence: In the Super League game against GC, which kicks off on Saturday evening in Wankdorf, the standing areas in the east curve will remain closed – there , where otherwise the die-hard YB fans support their team. The ban was imposed after YB fans rioted in Zurich in September before a game against GC and demolished a VBZ bus. The driver’s cab, which protects the chauffeur, was also damaged. The driver was also threatened with death.
In extreme cases there is a risk of forfeit defeats
According to the cascade model, sector closures are one of the consequences that can be ordered regularly in the future in the event of violence against people or the use of weapons, pyrotechnics and other objects against people. The cascade model has not yet been decided. But the closure of the parquet in Sector D in Wankdorf during the GC game was agreed with the licensing authorities working group, explains Nause: “The closure anticipates the future procedure according to the cascade model.”
The measures in this model are based on the severity and frequency of the rule violations: the more serious an event, the more serious the sanctions. For example, setting off firecrackers once, which endangers people, initially only results in a mandatory dialogue between club and fan representatives and the authorities. But other measures are painful: If multiple people are injured during riots, there is a risk that the game license will be withdrawn – which means a forfeit defeat for the home club.
A paradigm shift in Valais
The sanctions are not entirely new. As early as May 2023, the canton of Valais closed the Sion-Ultras sector after riots with injuries occurred at the club’s away game. The decision meant a paradigm shift. The licensing authorities working group was already involved back then. With the adoption of the cascade model, this approach should become the standard in the future: By coordinating nationally, the cantons and cities are demonstrating determination.
For football fans, this strategy means nothing other than the introduction of collective punishments: “We in the Swiss fan scene are declaring war on this together,” they announce, and: “Collective punishments are followed by collective answers.” The demonstration is to take place in Bern because security director Nause “has long lost all sense of proportion as one of the driving forces of this escalation strategy.” Ironically, however, the demo call cannot be found on the websites of the YB fan clubs – the club that is affected by the current ban.
It is therefore not clear whether there will be a joint campaign at all or whether the supporters of the different teams will each carry out their own activities. Nause also does not rule out that the rally would be approved if a request was received: As long as there are no calls for violence in circulation, there is nothing to speak against it. It is unusual for feuding football fans to band together to protest against harsher punishments. For KKJPD co-president Kayser-Frutschi, the announcement is not entirely unexpected. “It is in the nature of things that opponents who are actually enemies of each other join forces when pressure comes from outside.”