Press release from Prefect of Rome on safety at Stadio Olimpico

SAFETY AT THE STADIO OLIMPICO. PLAN AGREED IN PREFECTURE TO IMPROVE STADIUM EXPERIENCE FOR ALL SPECTATORS

An agreement has been struck between the central police station in Rome, AS Roma, SS Lazio and the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI) following a meeting of the Committee for Order and Public Safety today, 9 February 2016, chaired by the Prefect of Rome Franco Gabrielli.

The initiative was proposed by the Rome police commissioner Nicolò D'Angelo following a study involving a psychosocial survey which saw more than 2000 questionnaires conducted by experts at four Roma and Lazio games.

The study supplied important information about the perception of safety at the stadium, but also on the nature of the objection to the new organisational model adopted at the beginning of the season.

The data highlights that there is a high perception of safety from those who frequently visit the stadium in Rome. Among the respondents, only 7.5% claimed not to feel safe. Therefore, this suggests that the “stadium environment” today offers a higher level of perceived safety compared to other social environments and contradicts the negative image that one tends to generically associate with the stadium in public debate or common understanding.

As for accepting the measures that have been adopted, there is a high level of agreement considering that the survey was carried out during a period of intense opposition.

Approximately 29.7% of interviewees declared themselves to be in favour of the measures, which are obviously opposed by fans in the Curva who believe them to be unfair in 84.6% of cases.

Today's agreement – on the back of the positive evaluation by the National Observatory on Sports Events with the resolution from 3 February – approves the following steps:

Channels for dialogue with fans will be set up by the clubs through information offices dedicated to communicating with the fans themselves. Supporters will no longer have to turn to the police to organise fan initiatives but will have contact solely with club representatives, who will then liaise with public safety officials.

More stewards and less police. Safety checks at stadium entrances will be carried out first and foremost by stewards, while law enforcement officers will be concentrated in the initial supporter filtering areas partly in order to provide supporters with anti-terrorism security services.

Healthy support. Both clubs will launch awareness and education campaigns using popular figures for both fan bases on the subject of cheering and supporting the athletes on the pitch.

Organised fan groups. Via the Supporter Liaison Officers, the clubs shall study measures that can be adopted to avoid homogeneous groups being split up, which would potentially be caused by introducing sectors. CONI, as the owner of the facility, will pursue strategies to make technological improvements to the Stadio Olimpico and offer services aimed at improving accessibility to the stadium and creating a more comfortable environment for women, children and the elderly.

The Rome central police station will act as the system's guarantor while also respecting the fans' spaces, on the specific condition that laws are obeyed regarding the bans on occupying the stairwells, bringing in explosive or pyrotechnic materials and displaying illegal banners.

The Provincial Committee for Order and Public Safety will monitor the safety situation at the Stadio Olimpico and, should the response from fans be positive, could reevaluate the organisational model with the aim of creating better conditions over time for gathering at the stadium.