KONVENCIJA O INTEGRISANOM PRISTUPU BEZBEDNOSTI, SIGURNOSTI I USLUGAMA NA FUDBALSKIM UTAKMICAMA I DRUGIM SPORTSKIM DOGAĐAJIMA

Abstract

Violence at sports events, particularly in football matches, has been for a long time serious problem for all European countries taking various forms with evident tendency of relocating from inside the stadium to surrounding areas including wider urban environment. As a direct reaction to the tragic events at Heysel in 1985 and as the European institutional response to the problem of sports hooligans, the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches was adopted within the Council of Europe. The Convention has come into force on the 1st November 1985 and since then it has been ratified by 42 Member States (CETS No. 120). Ugly scenes in sports arenas throughout Europe over the past decades has shown that the content of this Convention is inconsistent and, in some respects, contradictory to the approach and good practice that has been established in many European countries for the past several years. That is why it was decided in 2013 to amend the Convention from 1985 and in 2016 the Council of Europe adopted the Convention on an Integrated Safety, Security and Service Approach at Football Matches and Other Sports Events which has come into force on 1st November 2017 (CETS No. 218). This Convention completely replaces the European Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events and in particular at Football Matches. One of the main characteristics of the Convention is the integrated approach of all involved actors and stakeholders in the fight against violence and misbehaviour in sports arenas, based on three interdependent pillars: safety, security and services. In his paper the author analyses key features and solutions from the Convention No. 218 including the Recommendation Rec (2015) 1 of the Standing Committee on Safety, Security and Service at Football Matches and other Sports Events taking into account the Convention No. 120 referred to in the preamble of the Convention No. 218. Furthermore, the author points to the need and importance of signing and ratifying this Convention for the Republic of Serbia.