Making sport safe

The 1980s were marked by a number of tragedies at sports events, such as the disaster at Heysel stadium in Brussels, Belgium, when 39 fans lost their lives after a wall collapsed following a riot between fans of Liverpool and Juventus. The Convention on Spectator Violence and Misbehaviour at Sports Events came into force six months later, aiming to tackle the root causes of the tragedy – violence and misbehaviour by fans. It brought in closer co-operation between police forces, stricter control of ticket sales, restrictions on sales of alcohol and better stadium design to allow effective crowd control and make football grounds safe. Read more on the Council of Europe’s work on sport.

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