Croatia moves to rid sport of violence

Croatian schoolchildren could soon be taught how to behave like good sports fans in an attempt to stamp out the hooliganism and racism that have marred the country's image in recent years.

The initiative, the brainchild of a teacher, has been devised to coincide with the world handball championships that Croatia hosts in January but the primary targets are soccer fans, known for violent behaviour, racist abuse and clashing with police at home and abroad.

"We have seen enough disorder at sports events. We want to make those events a place for joy and family gathering, not a field for vulgar manners and destruction," said Bosko Lozica from the Zagreb city authorities.

The Croatian FA was fined 30,000 Swiss francs ($26,620) for racist behaviour by fans during a World Cup qualifier against England in Zagreb last month.

Over the last three years, the Croatian FA has had to pay out more than 200,000 francs for misbehaviour by fans at home and abroad, including fights in Malta and in Hungary and insulting chants during the Euro 2008 quarter-final against Turkey.

A group of Dinamo Zagreb fans, the Bad Blue Boys, clashed violently with Czech police in Prague during a UEFA Cup tie against Sparta last week. Some 300 fans were arrested in the scuffles and eight policemen were injured.

Top local soccer games between Dinamo and their main rivals, Hajduk Split, are considered 'high risk', attracting a heavy police presence.

The new project, dubbed "The Fans' Etiquette", would go to the sports ministry for approval soon.

The idea came from Zagreb schoolteacher Bozica Uroic who wrote a handbook on the rules of civilised behaviour at sports events, from leaving home, to attending a game and returning safely.

Her idea was to hold presentations in primary and secondary schools, she said - first in the capital Zagreb, then elsewhere in Croatia - to show pupils why violence was bad and how they should behave to make a game an enjoyable event for everyone.

"I think they should hear what sport is really about, what happened in the past when violence prevailed, like the famous Heysel tragedy, and how they should look after themselves, others and public property when attending games," she said.

Thirty-nine people were killed and hundreds injured when a wall collapsed in the Heysel stadium in Brussels after fans charged before the 1985 European Cup final between Juventus and Liverpool.

The tragedy prompted Europe to take a tougher stance on soccer hooliganism.

The Croatian FA welcomed the initiative and said it was ready to help by involving players and broadcasting its own video clips.

Drazen Lalic, a leading local sociologist, said prevention was the key, rather than the repression to which authorities mostly resorted to in the past.

"However, I'm not convinced that going to schools alone will be enough. It would be crucial to go to places where fans gather... talk to them in their premises, bars, join them during journeys and so on. There are maybe 1,000 problematic fans in the country but so far there has been no prevention," he said.

In a separate attempt to tame violence in stadiums, Deputy Prime Minister Djurdja Adlesic visited London this month to talk to British officials about how they tackled similar problems.