French minister warns violence affecting clubs

AFP - 8 October 2008 19:45

French Sports and Youth Secretary of State Bernard Laporte, seen here in August 2008, said violence in stadiums is an increasing problem for clubs and is hampering their growth.

PARIS (AFP) - Violence in stadiums is an increasing problem for clubs and is hampering their growth, French Sports Minister Bernard Laporte said Wednesday.

Violence is "a factor hampering clubs' growth" and hence their competitiveness Laporte opined.

"One no longer wishes to bring one's child to the ground. For example, you're concerned when you go to the Parc des Princes (Paris St Germain's home ground) and this violence is one of the factors hampering clubs' growth," Laporte told a parliamentary social affairs commission into French clubs.

The conclusions of a report on the issue are expected next month.

Former French rugby coach Laporte said that existing laws had to be applied more rigorously to clamp down on violence at football grounds.

He insisted that England, which had to bring its house in order following a ban from European competition imposed on English clubs in the mid-to-late 1980s, were now "much stricter" in enforcing banning orders on hooligans.