UEFA-EU Conference on Safety

The tenth EU-UEFA Conference on Security and Services held at Vienna airport on Thursday.

The representatives and spokesmen of governments and the police attended the annual meeting at the NH Hotel in the Austrian capital with security officials of UEFA, the football federations and the clubs taking part this season UEFA Champions League and UEFA Champions League as well as National Football Information Points (NFIP).

One of the main objectives of the conference was to exchange guidelines, and action to increase security at European soccer matches.

After a brief welcome by the director of stadiums and security of UEFA, Marc Timmer, delegates heard interventions William Gaillard, advisor to UEFA president, Johanna Mikl-and Leitner, Austrian Minister of Interior, the prospects on security in the stadiums of UEFA and the EU.

"Here we are setting up communication channels. All club representatives who are here know the recipe to make these events safer, but not something that is achieved without an implementation.'s All about making a good implementation," said Timmer.

Another objective was to hear the views of other key estates and representatives of the fans and stadiums, and facilitate good contact between the security officers of the clubs so they can exchange all types of information.

Despite considerable progress has been made with regard to stadium security, Jo Vanhecke, vice chairman of the Council of Europe Convention on Spectator Violence, said there is no excuse for complacency. "We must be alert. Most authorities take action only when something goes wrong. We have to avoid these things to happen," said Vanhecke.

"They should not be conplacientes. If you do not have security problems in a year that does not mean they do not go back to have. Always be alert and careful because we are talking about lives. Work safety will never end. Always we have to do it. "

Gaillard stressed the need for monitoring, said: "You should always prepare for the unthinkable." Unfortunately, the momentum given to the issue of security came after the Heysel disaster of 1985.

To Vanhecke, it is important that viewers feel comfortable, not in cages as in the past. "People should feel welcome in the fields, not angry or frustrated. Hospitality is a very important component of this strategy," he said.

The morning meeting also provided an opportunity for other institutions to give their views. For example, Daniela Wurbs, coordinator of Football Supporters Europe, spoke of soccer fans.

In the afternoon, the conference delegates were divided into small teams for a series of seminars in which participants watched videos about critical situations in which we must find solutions that tackle the problems. Flares, political protests, racism, violence, riots and spectators without tickets were some of the themes. The distribution of equipment for these groups coincide with the draws for the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

After the workshops, three plenary sessions completed the conference. Michael van Praag, a member of UEFA's Executive Committee and chairman of Club Competitions UEFA, spoke of the multimedia database called Safety and Security Expert Tool 2.0, which allows easy access to guidelines for good praxis through videos, documents and images related to security relevant in football management and security.

Jo Vanhecke made some comments on its findings and František Laurinec, a member of UEFA's Executive Committee and President of the Security Committee in the stadiums of UEFA, gave an overview to delegates who took him.

Marc Timmer concluded: "As the conference is great. But it's not just the conference, this is what happens in reality." Implement security at the stadium is not just a concern of governments, clubs and UEFA, is also vital for anyone interested in football.