Russia mulls ID cards for football fans

Moscow: The Russian Premier League is thinking about introducing special ID cards for football fans, the latest proposal to tighten up security at stadiums.

The fight against trouble in the stands escalated last month when Dynamo Moscow goalkeeper Anton Shunin was injured by a flare thrown from the crowd. A host of new security measures have been proposed in the wake of the incident to prevent a repeat. The latest one is to link each supporter to each seat by means of a new electronic identification card. "This can be a multi-function card," said Sergei Cheban, the league`s executive director. "A person possessing such a card will be registered as a supporter of a certain club." The card could also work in part as a credit card, and offer discounts for a range of goods and services to entice supporters to sign up, Cheban said. "But first of all, it will act as an identifier." The league asked all 16 clubs to limit ticket sales to those who present valid passports after the Shunin incident. Cheban insisted the league was already seeing the positive effects of the initiative. Another legal consequence of the Shunin incident could be that clubs must hire private security firms to provide the stewarding at matches, Cheban said. IANS