#IPLAYFAIR
The Catalan Football Federation and the Police of the Generalitat-Mossos d'Esquadra launch the joint campaign #JoJugoNet, which aims to have zero tolerance with clubs that show violent behavior, who may be excluded from the competition in case of repeat offenses. Both entities reinforce anti-violence actions to end violent, uncivil, and racist behaviors in fields and pavilions throughout Catalonia.
WHAT DOES THE CAMPAIGN CONSIST OF?
The premise is zero tolerance with violent people. Therefore, under the slogan #JoJugoNet, a joint campaign is launched on social networks to prevent intolerant behavior in sports. For this reason, in those venues where police presence is required several times due to uncivil conduct, the administration can force the club to hire a private security service. However, if these violent behaviors persist, article 307 of the General Regulations of the FCF contemplates the expulsion of the club from the competition:
“The club that commits very serious disciplinary offenses, seriously and repeatedly offends sports authorities or federation Committees and, in general, when its conduct, in any aspect, signifies a discredit or insult to the organization or any of the people, entities, or bodies that comprise it, will be expelled from the Catalan Football Federation.
The team that throughout a single season leads to violent, racist, xenophobic or intolerant incidents, classified by disciplinary bodies as serious in three games or very serious in one game, provided that these are due to behavior carried out by spectators or at least two or more members of the club, will be excluded from the competition, under the conditions established in article 294 of this Regulation, imposing the accessory fine in the amount of 96.21 to 901.75 euros”.
The Sports Ethics and Fight against Violence Commission of the FCF works very closely with the Mossos d'Esquadra force to guarantee that the owners of sports facilities maintain good sporting order, that the FCF Code of Ethics is disseminated within the structure of the clubs, as one of the objectives of the WE ARE ALL ONE TEAM campaign, and that they are involved in raising public awareness of the values of respect and fair play.
JOINT CAMPAIGN WITH MOSSOS D'ESQUADRA
The FCF and the Sports Office of the Mossos d’Esquadra hold weekly meetings to monitor non-professional football and futsal matches taking place throughout the territory, and to establish measures if improper conduct is detected or fair play is not respected. In these cases, the law requires the organizing entity to adopt security measures to ensure the proper development of the competition, both on the field and in the stands, through the appropriate control measures.
Between the FCF and the Mossos d’Esquadra there is a collaboration protocol establishing that the Federation will request police support in matches that may be anticipated as conflictive. Similarly, the club itself must always take adequate measures to guarantee the safety of the match.
Furthermore, #JoJugoNet also specifically focuses on violent attitudes coming from the stands. For this reason, the existing protocol with the police primarily prevents the impunity of violent behaviors generated by spectators, as the FCF has no jurisdiction to act on the public at fields and pavilions, but the Mossos d'Esquadra can administratively, filing relevant reports and expelling violent individuals from sports facilities.
Every weekend, around 5,000 football and futsal matches take place in Catalonia. For this reason, the FCF and the Mossos d’Esquadra insist on the need to promote fair play and remember that, if incidents occur, actions will be taken against those clubs, federated members and spectators who do not respect current regulations.
COLLABORATION WITH DGAS
Together with the Mossos d'Esquadra, the Catalan Football Federation also collaborates with the General Directorate of Security Administration (DGAS) with the aim of carrying out preventive actions to avoid violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sports.
The purpose of the three entities is to make a common front to sanction, above all, the spectators who have repeated attitudes that harm the proper development of a football or futsal match. In this way, incidents that occurred in the organized sports events are compiled, and actions taken to prevent them and, if necessary, sanction them.
Additional information
The Catalan Football Federation and the Mossos d'Esquadra have been collaborating regularly for years to eradicate situations of violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sports, as well as to analyze the most prominent incidents requiring police action, on football fields and futsal pavilions and courts.
Within this joint work strategy, informative and educational material with infographics aimed at clubs has been prepared so that they remember current regulations regarding sports and the celebration of sports events, especially regarding the prohibition of the sale and/or consumption of alcoholic beverages, rigid bottles and cans, the use of pyrotechnics, prevention of fights and public disorders, etc.
- Campaign launch video: here
- The Catalan Football Federation and the Mossos d'Esquadra launch the campaign: here
Mandatory circular for sports events.