Fireworks and Masks at Czech Stadiums Could Become a Criminal Offense

Using pyrotechnics and covering one's face at football matches in Czechia could soon be reclassified from a minor administrative offense to a criminal one. That's according to Martin Šťastný, head of the relevant ministry, which — together with its coalition partners — is preparing amendments to the law on sports support.

Smart stadiums and facial recognition

According to the minister, the bill amending the sports support law to introduce "smart stadiums," meaning facial recognition technology, is already about 95 percent complete. Drafters are currently fine-tuning certain provisions in light of the latest feedback from the Office for Personal Data Protection, in order to guarantee the strictest possible protection of fans' personal information.

A central pillar of the reform will be a secure digital registry of individuals banned from attending football matches. Responsibility for creating and maintaining this registry is expected to fall to the National Sports Agency.

Pyrotechnics: no longer a minor offense, but a crime

The coalition's second major decision concerns tougher penalties for using pyrotechnics and covering one's face at stadiums. Šťastný noted that the push actually came from within the football community itself — fan representatives were the ones who asked lawmakers to move such violations from administrative offenses into the category of criminal crimes.

The minister did not specify what penalties offenders might face, though he suggested that less serious infractions could still be punished with fines.

A concrete draft of the bill is expected to be ready within about a week, prepared jointly by the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of the Interior. The coalition hopes to introduce the legislation as early as September. Under an optimistic scenario, the new rules could take effect before the start of next year's autumn football league season, although the minister admitted there's no guarantee the bill will clear all the necessary approval stages in time.

Source: novinky.cz