Looking at some of the so-called ‘hooligan legislation’ out there or the ongoing, and the almost natural further restriction of civil liberty rights of all football supporters in a match day context and beyond nowadays makes it sometimes hard to believe that most of us in fact aren’t evil creatures but nothing more than passionate supporters who want nothing more than to be valued by their clubs and follow their team.
We don’t deny that there is violence and discriminatory behavior, too – but whilst it’s evidently a tiny minority of offenders, the laws, measures or intervention strategies often in place target or directly punish all fans collectively as a problem. And rather than preventing the escalation of conflicts, scientific evidence shows that these one-sided strategies are much more likely to make things even worse…
Therefore it's often very easy for a football fan to get into trouble, finding yourself arrested at a match, prosecuted and/or banned for unfair reasons, sometimes just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There are numerous examples like that across the continent. And it gets particularly difficult when this happens abroad.
A balancing approach and support for these fans is desperately needed which is why FSE members are now seeking to build a network of lawyers in Europe who are experienced in dealing with their respective national legislation and fans. We want to bring them together to trigger better networking and exchange of expertise for their own benefit and for the fans they are working with.
What next?
As a first step will be to gather contacts to fan lawyers from as many countries across Europe as possible until 30 November 2011.
After that, we’ll get in touch with all lawyers identified in the first round and will make arrangements for a network meeting.
