Prime Minister Edi Rama’s remarks at meeting with Albania Football Association and sport clubs’ officials:

Honourable Mr. President,

Honourable participants,

We are gathered here today as a result of the need for a joint action in response to the no longer tolerable phenomenon of violence in sports. But, on the other hand, I believe in opportunities that lie wherever and whenever a crisis occurs. And such an opportunity is given us today to see football as a discipline, an organization and a great force that reaches out to society and educates young people.

I would of course like to jointly address the violence in sports, but using at the same time this opportunity to overhaul the Albanian football through a deep reform process in order to further advance it. It is undeniable that if we look back on a decade ago, the changes that have taken place are impressive, but it is also undeniable that, if we are to look forward we still lag behind regarding to where the Albanian football should be.

This is the reason why we are gathered here today together with the Minister of Interior, the Finance Minister, the chairmen of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs and the Committee on Economy, as well as the Deputy Minister of Justice and the Deputy Minister of Education and Sports, with the latter being the government’s direct representative in this process.

We are here to launch a discussion and I believe and wish that, just like we discussed with the Association’s President in advance, we will immediately set up a joint working team and establish several teams and set the objective of drafting a comprehensive football reform document so that we come together again and discuss it in a very near future.

First, I believe that in the efforts to address the problem of violence in sports, we have ample opportunity for developing an approach based not only on the need to respond to an emergency, but also the need to establish a solid base and enter an irreversible stage to prevent violence. For this reason, I believe that based on my best of knowledge and the preparations prior to this meeting, the fan attendance in stadiums should enjoy a special status, stipulating that spectators assume more responsibility in terms of the obligations they face in a certain environment, where any individual actions can be considered as an incitement to others to commit same either good or bad actions. This is not our invention, but it is something that is applied in other countries too.

In the meantime, I believe it is time for the State Police and the Football Association to stop throwing the ball in other’s court, but seriously cooperate with each other. I know that law bans deployment of police services indoors and the police return to the stadiums and sports facilities would require amendment to the law, as well as a specific Council of Ministers’ decision. However, this is not a reason to hide behind a finger or look at the finger when the finger is pointing to the moon, yet this an aspect we should jointly address as I believe it is important that police act to provide safety and security.

One of the problems in the conflict between the State Police and the Albanian Football Federation concerns the quality of sports facilities. Given that many sports facilities fail to meet the normal acceptable safety and security parameters, the police throw the ball in the Association’s court and, on the other hand, the Football Association has no choice but to throw the ball back in the State Police’s court, while they should jointly work to monitor disturbances amongst the fans and crowds by using surveillance and security cameras at all sports facilities. We live in a technological era and the latest technology provides us the opportunity that without a high cost – and we have shown how to share cost when developing joint projects with the Football Federation – work immediately together and force football clubs to install surveillance cameras in the sports facilities so that the police could identify wrongdoers and provide sufficient evidence when the prosecutors raise charges and refer their cases to the court.

When I speak about a special fan status I mean the best international practice and the indispensability to stipulate a set of responsibilities and punishment, starting with offences punishable by administrative fines. For example, the Association’s President just mentioned a complaint filed by the Audio Visual Media Authority, rightly calling on the Association to make sure that stadiums are not arenas where fans yell in chorus insult after insult towards the referees or the rivalling team whenever there is a discontent with a referee decision, and instead law is enforced and the due punishments are delivered in accordance with the fans’ status.

Other sanctions, including banning certain fans from stadium for misbehaviour and detaining troublemakers and turbulent elements while games take place on the football pitch, have been examined although not imposed to date. However, I want to state today that we will amend the Criminal Code Procedure and invading the pitch will carry a jail sentence of up to three years. Not an administrative fine up to three years, but three years’ imprisonment. Whoever crosses the pitch’s white line and invades the green carpet poses a physical threat to those carrying out their duty, be them football players or referees.

Therefore, it is imperative that we discuss and immediately apply such sanctions and a minimum of three year’s imprisonment. Meanwhile, to my best of knowledge, more severe penalties, including jail sentence up to three years were enforced in England in 1989, based on an initiative launched by the then British Prime Minister to ultimately address the violence that characterized English football and the violence in stadiums was eliminated, along with wires and barriers, while stadiums were turned into a kind of opera or theatres, where nobody would ever dare cross that white line, because ends up in prison even today. So imprisonment and lifetime ban from attending football matches represent the first step we are about to take together with the Parliament by amending the Criminal Procedure Code.

I believe that imposing stiffer sanctions and installation of the surveillance and security cameras is the proper approach to address this matter.

It is also high time to follow Germany’s or Spain’s examples – there could well be other examples, but I am pointing out the example of these two countries – when the Ministry of Interior, in collaboration of the Football Association and the professional football league, should agree and sign the so-called the Stadium Safety and Security Regulation. An accord is needed and under such an accord the police should directly involve in maintaining public order and security during football games and the security in the sports facilities according to the needs and terms of the agreement in collaboration with the Association.

A specific department at the Ministry of Interior and the State Police, which will include a limited number of people who will dedicate to maintaining security and order during sports activities and football games in particular, to make sure that such games become events that attract normal people.

On the other hand, I think this is not enough. We can’t keep calling for a modern football and demand that national football becomes a healthy source to feed the national team with clubs declaring minimal salaries in order to avoid taxes. Players with an average salary of EUR 100.000 while their declared wage is estimated 300 000 lek. Such a show can no longer go on and this is part of the framework of the current state that should change.

Of course we understand the reason behind this. Let’s discuss it. Let’s remove the profit tax on all football clubs on condition that the players’ salaries are declared correctly and clubs and players alike are no obliged to pay income tax for a certain period of time. Let’s suppose this period includes 5 or 7 years. I am just floating an idea. Removal of the profit tax would be one of the ways to formalize the financial activity of the football clubs under the agreement with the Football Association. Of course, whoever is then caught red-handed will pay much more for deceiving.

We have refrained from investigating the football clubs’ accounts, because we don’t want to close football. None of the clubs meet the law requirements and I understand also the fact that given the today’s conditions, those who pay for football are not interested in being formal and establish a formal relation with the law. Therefore, another approach is needed. The discussions on privatization plans go on since I used to serve as Minister of Culture and Sports.

Secondly, we should examine and mull over removal of taxes on sports construction, just like we have done in the case of agritourism and the construction of five-star hotels. There is no reason why we don’t approve same decision to remove taxes on construction of sports facilities, including reduction of the Value Added Tax to a rate of 6% only. It is not that we are building stadiums, sports halls and other sports facilities all over the country and the state budget is affected. It is a phase we need to move forward national football and turn football from an activity organized by marked and half-occult fanaticism into a genuine industry, which means that we should do exactly what other countries have already done. I am not saying that we adopt Hungary’s model that fiscal incentives to football are estimated around EUR 12 billion, because we can’t do that, yet we can pave the way that opens up ample investment opportunities, attracting a larger number of investors to enter this industry.

The custom taxes on sports goods should also be lowered. We have cut taxes on agricultural inputs, machineries and equipment and we can do the same about sports facilities! So, the customs and fiscal incentives on sports goods is another issue we need to discuss.

I know quite well that the Football Association President calls for a new sponsorship law. We are ready to discuss it, yet it is currently better to refrain from making promises we can’t keep, but instead we will explore the opportunities to cut sponsorship taxes.

We are talking about stadiums, but no stadium is currently being normally managed and the Football Association has become a sort of ambulance that takes over stadium management responsibilities, while the stadium owners, or local government authorities in this case, in collaboration with sports clubs should enter a new phase. This means that we seriously discuss ways to earmark a funding to support sports infrastructure, with the government co-funding investments in building sports facilities, while football clubs are responsible for stadium management. But we still face absurd situations with local government authorities refusing to cooperate with investors, while the existing legislation is open to any kind of speculations and abuses. But what is the result of this?

The result is violence in stadiums that fail to meet any standards to live up by their name and they are a disgrace to any facilities that deserve to be called stadiums. So the government can well become a shareholder and support this fund to support various projects in collaboration with the Football Association and sports clubs.

This is what I think would encourage and inspire people to invest more in football. But this won’t happen as long as stadiums are currently “neither fish nor fowl” without a clear owner and without sponsor or donors. What I am proposing – these are just ideas and of course the experience of everyone here is much worthier then any lecture or example we come across while reading and the Association has a significant contribution to make – is creation of a reform commission and various working teams to address violence in sports, oversee the implementation of the agreement between the Association and the State Police, and another group deals with the economic and fiscal aspects.

Finally, I would like to highlight the need to explore opportunities and solve the issue of a court of arbitration for sports. I don’t know the Association’s position on this issue, yet this is a complaint I have randomly heard, because clubs should refer cases to the Lausanne-based Court of Arbitration for Sports. Why such a structure is not created here? We are ready to provide out contribution.

The Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Justice, as well as the Ministry of Education  and Sports will work on this reform project. Both parliamentary committees on legal affairs and the Economy and Finance, will be available because here it is not just about doing something, but it is about doing it quickly.

Addressing the violence in sports problems and the amendments to the Criminal Code should be done quickly and give a clear message that no one will be tolerated.

We are ready to continue to strongly support the Football Association and firmly support football development. We have a series of very significant examples of cooperation on construction of sports facilities with the Association. The new stadium in Kukes will be built soon. We have also received applications for other stadiums in Durres, Fier, Vlora and probably others, but we cannot continue working in an unstructured way. Let’s develop a concrete one-year plan and each one do their job.

I believe this will allow us to take Albanian football to another level, by making use of your experience, our opportunities and the common good will. The Association’s President said that everything can be done should there is a political will. I fully agree, but it is not the politicians only the ones who should demonstrate political willingness, but other stakeholders should do the same, including the clubs’ presidents, the Mayors and local government authorities, who wish to see their local teams wining the Champions League tournament, yet they complain over lacking financial means. If they lack the financial means, then they should promote volleyball or other sports disciplines. Everyone should assume their responsibility.

Thank you very much!