Balaclavas banned at sporting events

Fines for violence to increase.

Stock image.Stock image. (Source: SITA)

Tickets for sporting events considered 'risky' will only be sold to people providing their full name after parliament approved an amendment to legislation today. Ticket holders who have given their name will only be allowed into the event once their identity has been confirmed.

SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement
SkryťTurn off ads
Article continues after video advertisement

Meanwhile, under the new law, as of June, as well as weapons and pyrotechnics, people are now prohibited from wearing balaclavas at events. Fines for breaking rules and violence, have also been increase, with penalties for the latter rising to €500 instead from the current €100.

SkryťTurn off ads
Related article Hooligans from abroad came to Trnava trained and organised, system failed to detect them Read more 

Higher fines

Until now, only fans from visiting sports teams were required to provide their full name when buying tickets for an event deemed to be risky. Promoters will also be obliged to manage and keep a list of all attendees at an event, and if asked, to provide that list to police.

The penalty for repeated offences within two years will also be harsher, with a ban from sporting events for one year instead of the current six months. Under a new preliminary measure, anyone charged with violence will be banned from attending events.

In another change, responsibility for the system which identifies those causing riots at sports events will move to the Interior Ministry rather than, as at present, the Slovak Football Association and Slovak Ice Hockey Federation.

SkryťTurn off ads

Top stories

Janka, a blogger, during the inauguration of the first flight to Athens with Aegean Airlines at the airport in Bratislava on September 14, 2023.

A Czech rail operator connects Prague and Ukraine, Dominika Cibulková endorses Pellegrini, and Bratislava events.


Píšem or pišám?

"Do ľava," (to the left) I yelled, "Nie, do prava" (no, to the right), I gasped. "Dolšie," I screamed. "Nie, nie, horšie..." My Slovak girlfriend collapsed in laughter. Was it something I said?


Matthew J. Reynolds
Czech biochemist Jan Konvalinka.

Jan Konvalinka was expecting a pandemic before Covid-19 came along.


SkryťClose ad