The Minister of Justice is sending a clear message regarding policing at the country’s sports stadiums ahead of the new soccer season. Only matches held in licensed stadiums will be policed. This was also made clear during a meeting held with all relevant stakeholders.

“This means, therefore, that all stadium operators, whoever they may be, must take all necessary steps to have their stadiums licensed by the competent stadium licensing committee. Otherwise, they will not be patrolled by the police, because above all else is the safety of the fans, the safety of the staff, and the safety of the players.” ^{Kostas Fytiris, Minister of Justice}

Regarding the fan ID card and the operation of the system—an issue raised for discussion during the meeting—he emphasized that this measure is meaningless without closed-circuit television (CCTV) monitoring in the stadiums.

“The stands must be covered by closed-circuit cameras so that if someone commits an offense or throws an object and injures someone, the perpetrator can be identified immediately. So if the stadiums don’t have CCTV, the fan ID card is meaningless.” ^{Kostas Fytiris, Minister of Justice}

Upgrading stadium security will, on the one hand, greatly relieve the burden on the police and, on the other hand, free up a significant number of police officers who are currently assigned to match security. The police force is already burdened with many duties, and the Ministry of Justice is reviewing the laws to determine in which cases the police are required to take action.

“Every ministry and every agency that lacked the personnel to ensure the smooth enforcement of the law called on the police. As a result, today a large percentage of the police force is engaged in enforcing laws of other ministries—tasks that police officers should not normally be performing.” ^{Kostas Fytiris, Minister of Justice}

The goal is for police officers to focus solely on the duties prescribed for them.

“Police officers should focus on police duties at a time when we are experiencing a surge in crime, at a time when we are experiencing migration flows, and the enforcement of laws that do not require specialized police officers may even be delegated to private citizens or other agencies to find their own solutions.” ^{Kostas Fytiris, Minister of Justice}

Pointing out that policing and public safety are the force’s primary duties.

See the report by Nasia Ioannou