Poland calls for stricter measures against soccer hooliganism
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A week after stadium rioting in Poland's city of Bydgoszcz in which tens of hooligans responsible for the disturbances have been identified, Poland's prosecutor general, justice minister and opposition parties proposed stricter measures to fight stadium hooliganism, local media reported on Monday.
Poland's prosecutor general Andrzej Seremet proposed changes in regulations that would allow to punish anyone who covered their faces in stadiums. Not only hooligans but also organizers responsible for negligence should be punished. A good solution is to bar hooligans from matches, Seremet told a press conference.
Stadium security regulations now under preparation by Poland's justice ministry may be supplemented to include new solutions, Poland's Justice Minister Krzysztof Kwiatkowski said, recalling that the new legislation is due to be discussed by Poland's Cabinet in May. Also under justice ministry proposals, those who covered their faces in stadiums will be arrested or fined.
The justice minister said that he would meet the prosecutor general in the coming days to discuss the proposals designed to fight stadium hooliganism.
Main opposition party -- Law and Justice -- proposed to punish anyone who brought dangerous objects into stadiums or covered their faces during disturbance. The legislation is due to be lodged with the Sejm (lower house) on May 10.
"Stadium riots cannot become a Polish trademark," Elzbieta Jakubiak from Poland Comes First (PJN) said Monday commenting recent incidents of uncontrolled football rowdyism in Poland.
Jakubiak appealed for stricter measures against stadium hooliganism and warned that football riots should not be a "Polish trademark" during the 2012 European Football Championship.
The Euro 2012 soccer championship, to be hosted by Poland and Ukraine from June 8 to July 1, 2012, will take place in four Polish cities of Warsaw, Gdansk, Wroclaw and Poznan as well as four Ukrainian cities of Kiev, Lvov, Donetsk and Kharkov.
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