Stewarding plays crucial role

UEFA has attended an international seminar on stewarding, hosted in Rome by the Italian Interior Ministry.

Sharing experience
Representatives from 24 European countries, the European Commission, the Council of Europe, UEFA and Italian football clubs attended the seminar. "The objective of the seminar was to share experience in the field of safety management and stewarding in particular, and to enhance the cooperation between the various public and private authorities," said Italian interior ministry representative Roberto Massucci.

Common task
"Our common task is to protect football, to allow the game to take centre stage and to deliver the perfect match experience for everybody involved," said UEFA's head of stadium and security Marc Timmer. "This can only be achieved by working in partnership, ensuring professional safety management and comfortable, safe stadiums. In this respect, UEFA called upon the authorities present to recognise the role of stewarding and the need for well-equipped, fence-free stadiums."

Zero tolerance
UEFA President Michel Platini recently reiterated his policy of zero tolerance towards violence and racism in stadiums, calling on clubs to help UEFA by implementing a system of qualified stewards and by only recognising supporters' associations which clearly and unambiguously reject violence and racism.