Head of security for Turku’s TPS sports club, Juha Laine, believes that stadium violence in Finland is on the rise and will increase further.
“Fortunately, it has not flared up in Finland yet on a large scale,” says Laine. “But if the big phenomenon grows out there, it will follow suit in Finland. That’s how it goes, unfortunately.”
Laine feels that while at present things are still under control, if the trend for fist-fighting fans does hit the country, its impetus may be difficult to stop if measures are not in place.
“Something should definitely be done, not just because it has increased, but because it has become more aggressive," he says. "Although every effort has been aimed at addressing and eradicating it, it has still grown. So far, we are still able to deal with things reasonably well.”
The ball is in the Ministry's court
The Ministry of Interior’s Police Department also feels that something should be done about what it too perceives as a growing trend for so-called "football hooliganism".
Under Finnish law, disruptive spectators can be removed from the stands, but a long-term ban on passing the gates at future matches can not be imposed. The Ministry has formed a working group to examine the possibility of bringing the system used throughout the rest of Europe into Finnish law.
TPS's security head believes that violent behavior does not stem from a club’s true fans, but from those who come to matches specifically looking for a fight.
“They are not going to football matches for a genuine reason, but they come looking for other action,” he claims.
Laine thinks there should be a system in place to exclude aggressive fans from matches. However, the security officer does want the working group to think carefully about how the system would operate.
“It needs to be done in such a way that the same rules are upheld in all matches at all clubs,” he says. “Otherwise there is a risk that one place will enforce it in a different way to another and then no one will know how it works.”