The Authority for the Prevention and Combating of Violence in Sport (APCVD) and Liga Portugal launched the “Feel at Home” campaign to raise awareness among the sport’s supporters fair game sport and promote good practices and good examples from the stands. And thus prevent the escalation of incidents in stadiums and the number of supporters denied access to sports venues (335, a record reached in the 2021-22 season).
The initiative kicked off on matchday 12 of the championship, but has been flagged in last four of the League Cup, where families from other clubs gather in a makeshift living room, in a box in Estádio Dr. Magellan Pessoa, in Leiria. See the supporters of FC Porto and Ac. Watching the league semi-finals together tonight, in the comfort of home in the middle of the stadium, is just one way to draw attention to the problem in a pedagogical way. “Replacing hostility with hospitality and thereby reducing tensions and episodes of violence”, as well as “making people feel valued, welcome and safe” in stadiums, especially on opponents’ pitches, is the goal, according to Rodrigo Cavaleiro, president of the APCVD.
For that it is necessary to contact the clubs, convince them to find a way to welcome their guests, namely supporters, especially those of the visiting team: “When you are well received, you return the kindness with a smile Once this is done, few will continue to behave violently – for them the solution is to exclude them from sporting events – leaving room for those who want to contribute to a festive and healthy environment.”
The personalized welcome, with a visit to the stadium, descent to the field and a photo with the cup and some of the main players of the competition, and the visit of Liga Portugal ambassadors – Paulo Futre, Manuel Fernandes, João Pinto, among others Helton and Jorge Andrade others – is just a treat for the Almeida family who support Ac. Viseu and the Oliveira family, fans of dragons. The Falcão and Oliveira families enjoyed this privilege in the other semi-final of the League Cup, in Sporting-Arouca, played on Tuesday and left there to organize a barbecue in the summer.
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The initiative promoted in collaboration by Liga Portugal and APCVD aims to improve the fair game to prevent the fight against violence in sport and football in particular, for which a new bill is already under consideration. A few days ago, the Authority for Violence initiated an administrative offense procedure following the roller hockey match between FC Porto and Benfica at the Dragão Arena, after Benfica supporters Carlos Nicolía publicly denounced the “insults” that were heard in the house of dragons had been heard.
According to the Report on Violence Related to Sports (RAViD), presented on December 27 last year, the 2021-22 season ended with 335 fans denied access to sports venues, which is the “highest value ever recorded in a single sports season” . . The document also specifies that of the 335 bans that came into effect last season, 274 were the result of a decision by the APCVD (81.8%) and the remaining 61 were determined by the courts (18.2%).
Source: DN
