The President of the Portuguese Fan Protection Association (APDA) reacts with “high hope” to the possibility of the fan card disappearing and emphasizes that Portuguese football needs to have the public fully return to the stadiums without bureaucratic restrictions.

The recall is being discussed in parliament on Wednesday. In statements to RenaissanceMartha Gens hopes that “given the political moment the country is going through” – the inevitability of legislative elections after “getting ahead” of the state budget – “there are no conditions” that would lead to disapproval of this measure.

“Football needs this measure now, tomorrow and yesterday,” emphasizes the APDA president, who believes that in the first 11 games of League I it was “noticeable” that “no one wants more bureaucracy in football.”

“Moreover, their freedoms are limited because of the fan card, which has absolutely no practical effect.”

The government-created Fan Card aims to combat violence in football by controlling access to special areas of the stadiums, usually reserved for fans. However, the observance of the map was insufficient – the closed zones at the stages of the I league often lost their supporters – and there were even scandals against this measure.

Photographic proof will speed up the process

Martha Gens acknowledges that the emergence of empty north-south sectors in the return of the public following the lifting of restrictions on Covid-19 may have triggered a “more immediate” response. Namely, from the Liberal Initiative (IL), which is now bringing this issue up for discussion in the Assembly of the Republic, and from the PCP, which has already submitted a bill to terminate this measure.

On October 7, Prime Minister Antonio Costa, to whom the only deputy of IL, João Cotrim de Figueiredo, proposed in parliament to withdraw the Adepto card, Prime Minister Antonio Costa guaranteed that he “will know reality.”

Regardless of whether the “timing” of the decision to discuss the fancard is “very or not very good,” the APDA President understands that “the bureaucratic issues involved in going to the plenary session take time” and welcomes his return to the House of Democracy. “. “.

“We do not fight unsportsmanlike behavior with bureaucratic measures, but with fundamental measures, interdisciplinary projects and ensuring the reception of those who want to stay in the stadium forever, and not vice versa. These measures, at the limit when they are intended for only 10% of potential violators at a sports facility, the truth is that they will be applied 100% and dissuade 90% of fans from wanting to play sports, ”he says.

What is Fan Card and how does it work

The Adept Card is designed to “promote safety and combat racism, xenophobia and intolerance at sporting events,” as published in Diário da República on June 26, 2020.

“This allows you to register and identify their owners in order to determine the size and control access to sites with special conditions of access and the consistency of supporters,” – explained at the time in the government.

It can be requested by anyone over the age of 16 and is valid for three years. It serves to provide access to areas defined in stadiums, usually occupied by support teams.

This measure also serves as “a means of timely review of judicial and administrative decisions prohibiting certain people from accessing sports facilities”, according to the regulation that regulates it.