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“Pure access efficiency”: Arrest of an FCZ fan*

About the pathetic role of the St. Jakobpark hostess in the last riot cup match FCB against FCZ

From Peter Knechtli

DThe Zurich fan, who despite having a ticket was unable to find his way into Basel's St. Jakob Park, said casually: “It's not about sport.” In a figurative sense, it's about war. If we don't manage to bring about a decisive cultural shift in the criminal Swiss football fan scene soon – because the discussion has been fruitless for long enough – then what the Basel police officer predicted during the operation on the evening of November 20th will come true: the day will come when the first death will be reported as a result of fan riots.

BWhat happened around the so-called “guest sector” before and during the so-called “high-risk game” could only be observed with horror and disgust: A mob of well over a thousand people, several hundred of them ready for ultimate brutality, which destroyed part of the stadium and finally died. Control of the entrance to the football arena While their accomplices climbed a few floors higher, their demolition rage was thrown out of the stadium windows.

NNo one should be surprised that long-time match-goers and upstanding family fathers have had enough and are turning away from St. Jakob-Park when sportsmanship and fairness are met with derision at the stadium gates. On the contrary: it is the right and duty of citizens to stand up against the conditions at sporting events when the participants are no longer able to separate popular mass entertainment (and a bit of VIP glamour) from stupid acts of violence. When hundreds of police officers, largely financed by taxpayers, tear gas and rubber bullets await as dessert at the exit, even the most beautiful choreography from the Muttenz curve will no longer conjure up the atmosphere of a family and football festival in the semicircle.

“The landlady has security
completely promised.”

VMany have already spoken out as self-proclaimed experts, the police have made statements, FC Basel tried to put its “great efforts” to improve security in a positive light and the Swiss Football Association has expressed its helplessness. But one institution has so far remained suspect: the stadium operator “Basel United”. The host has completely failed. Because it is not only legally responsible in the first place, Responsible for security in the stadiumbut – even more importantly – for the effective implementation of access control.

BIn the turbulent cup match between FC Basel and FC Zurich on 20 November, it became clear that “Basel United” had not taken on the responsibility imposed on them: FCB fans had succeeded in attracting such masses of prohibited fireworks into the stadium, so that a real pyrotechnic orgy could be staged. Apparently the “Protectas” emergency services also appeared so weak in the face of the rioting Zurich criminals that special units suddenly had to be withdrawn from the tense scene in front of the stadium to reinforce the situation.

Die Basel United made its most serious mistake at the entrance gate to the so-called “guest sector”. Just imagine: A boiling mob of around a thousand people, protected by heavy equipment and police cordons against evasive maneuvers, pushing for entry. At the checkpoint, two unarmed “Basel United” employees. As the crowd rages from inside and outside, the dam finally breaks: Zurich fans press the heavy iron gate opens from the inside out, whereupon hundreds of rioters, whether with or without tickets, swarm into the stadium uncontrollably (picture).

DThe security capitulation of “Basel United” can no longer be documented as the open barn door. The fact that the entrance area was not massively secured in anticipation of a classic game of thugs is just as incomprehensible as the fact that Zurich rioters up in the sector – in front of 17,000 other spectators – were able to carry out the demolition of the stadium unhindered. Extract from the “Basel United” website: “Around 300 men and women ensure that every football match in the stadium … is carried out undisturbed and safely.”

EIt seems time to focus more on the host “Basel United”, who are acting in the background, and to make the approval of the games consistent with watertight proof that the stadium operator can also guarantee the role assigned to it as a guarantor of security. It is also time for “Basel United” to finally publicly explain why it has failed so badly in terms of security and what means are to be used to prevent such blatant failures in the future.

EIt would be wrong – and this must be admitted – to give the impression that “Basel United” has been asleep since the ominous May 2006: In fact, numerous security detail facilities have been created and security resources have also been significantly increased. But November 20th showed that this is not enough. The sensitive areas must be improved again and the cooperation between the various players must be better coordinated.

AFrom my personal perspective, the police seemed to have done a solid job, quite close to the action. They confronted the agitated crowd until there were attacks on the entrance area and on the police. Only then did they use their defensive weapons. To accuse them of only making a measly two arrests may be understandable at first glance, but it is not permissible.

“A high number of arrests blinds
penetration efficiency only.”

MThere are a large number of arrests, which the public is proud of as being highly effective. But in a constitutional state, an arrest does not mean anything. A prisoner can only be brought before the law enforcement authorities and courts with the prospect of punishment if the evidence convinces the judge. It is to be hoped, however, that the video cameras of the internal stadium surveillance and those of the police captured a few other identifiable troublemakers during their outburst of anger. But there are hurdles to overcome here too: quite a few of the aggressors arrived at the stadium from the train already masked – which is already prohibited by law.

EFinally, it is important to realise that the St. Jakob-Park company is no longer a mere “Schutti business”, but a clearly commercially oriented multi-divisional companywhich ranges from stadium operations to the management of the VIP areas high above the green grass, advertising and sponsorship activities and security. From a commercial point of view, it is important to set the appropriate priorities that justify a rentable operation. It is obvious that the security area is not one of the host's cash cows.

Nur: If the finances are to be right in the long run, there is no way around “Basel United” not allowing itself to suffer any more embarrassments like the one it has just had.

* on 20 November 2009 at the Basel St. Jakobs intersection

27 November 2009

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