When the police refer to organized masking in the football stands, the organizer must now interrupt the match. Only when the masking ceases can the match be resumed. In the worst case, the match can be played out in front of empty stands.
The new requirement is part of the organizer's permit when Malmö FF on Saturday receives Djurgården in the top division.
What I think is extremely worrying is that with this condition, you also give the opportunity for a smaller group of people to actually end a match, says MFF's CEO Niclas Carlnén to TT.
”A deviation”
MFF shares the police's opinion that masking is a tool for committing gang crimes in the stands, but like the rest of Football Sweden, the association was taken by surprise by the police's announcement to introduce the new requirement. According to the police, it is a test for the next two rounds, reports TV4 Football Channel.
The police claim that it has been done in collaboration (with football) and I can only state that it has absolutely not, says Carlnén.
Do you think it is in proportion to how big the problem is?
Maybe it's not my job to assess. But to make a deviation from the exclusion strategy is completely wrong based on the severity of the crime or the offense.
The exclusion strategy is about individuals who commit crimes being punished instead of the entire audience being affected.
MFF has received a definition of what organized masking means. Carlnén says, however, that there are scenarios where it will be difficult to determine whether an action is actually an organized masking.
What is a masking in itself? How much needs to be hidden for it to be considered a masking. That assessment is placed on the association, on the organizer, and then afterwards we will find out if we did wrong or not. If we get reported.
If a club does not act on something that the police consider to be an organized masking, a police report can be made with a risk of prosecution for a crime against the Public Order Act. It is then directed against an individual in the association who is responsible for the permit.
The police do not intervene
The request to stop a masking will be made via the loudspeaker system and the large screen.
MFF has received information that the police do not intend to intervene against masking in the stands because "the crime in question is not in proportion to the risks it would entail", the association writes on its website.
The police's decision is based on the fact that we as organizers have the responsibility and that the crime is not serious enough for the risks that arise in connection with such an intervention. And in some way, it summarizes that the consequence (with the new requirement) is not reasonable, says Niclas Carlnén.
Football Sweden has reacted strongly to the police introducing a new requirement for arrangements of matches in the top division and the second highest division from and including next weekend.
In the event of organized masking in the stands, the match should be interrupted and play can only be resumed when the masking ceases. The match may have to be played out in front of empty stands.
Stockholm clubs AIK, Hammarby, and Djurgården have in a joint statement appealed to the police not to introduce the requirement in future organizer permits.
Clubs like Malmö FF, IFK Norrköping, IFK Göteborg, Elfsborg, Gais, Örgryte, and Häcken have also made statements.
Swedish Elite Football (Sef) is concerned about the consequences the condition may have and believes that it has been introduced without dialogue with football.
Sef is an interest organization for the 32 elite clubs on the men's side in the top division and the second highest division.
