Colombian congress member Nicolás Uribe has openly suggested that
Bogotá’s most important football stadium, El Campín, should be closed
temporarily following fan violence this weekend.
The debate was sparked by an incident ahead of Sunday’s match between Millonarios and Deportivo Cali. A fan threw a rock at Cali’s team bus and pieces of glass consequently injured one of the players.
“If i was mayor of Bogotá, I would have decided to close the stadium temporarily,” Uribe said.
The politician also criticized the government for a lack of action: “The national government lacks interest to launch an iniative and take control.
“These are not isolated incidents because they have been happening every two months and no prevention measures are being taken.”
Uribe went on to comment on the large amount of police troops that are needed at football matches, saying that this task should be taken care of by private security members, allowing police forces to focus on actual crime in other parts of the city.
Violence in football is a global issue, with different measures taken in each country. England, in the past known for hooliganism, has controlled most of its problems by handing out lifetime stadium bans to perpetrators.