Senators want to make named and dematerialized tickets mandatory for sporting events

Senators have some ideas in mind. After the incidents that occurred during the Football Champions League final at the end of May 2022, the Senate Law and Culture Commissions, in a joint report, issued the use of tamper-evident football tickets as the very first recommendation. stadiums. Thanks to the bill relating to the Olympic and Paralympic Games (JOP), the senators broaden their request: in an amendment, adopted on Tuesday 17 January by the Culture Commission, they propose to establish “an obligation for the organizers of the most important sporting events” use tickets “nominative, dematerialized and unalterable”.

“It is essential to better prevent fraud and disorder in sports halls”believes Claude Kern (Centrist Union), author of the amendment and draftsman of the opinion on the bill, who refers in particular to what happened during the Champions League final, between Real Madrid and Liverpool: thousands of British spectators were unable to access at the stadium, many without tickets, some with counterfeit tickets.

On this last point, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, had sparked controversy by evoking a “massive, industrial and organized fraud”. He had accused “35,000 supporters” English to come to Paris with fake tickets, or without tickets, and thus cause congestion at the stadium entrance.

After investigations, it emerged that the number of counterfeit tickets had actually been 2,471 (of which 1,644 in the area dedicated to Liverpool fans). A number, however “ten times higher than the usually observed averages” during European soccer matches, according to the Senate report.

The amendment adopted does not specify how many spectators this obligation would apply. “This indicator will be set by decree in order to take into account the specifics of each discipline and the context”explains Claude Kern.

Furthermore, this provision would only apply from 1^um July 2024. Time to “carry on an in-depth dialogue with the sports movement”. In any case, “The Minister of Sports [Amélie Oudéa-Castéra] share our position on this matter »assures Claude Kern on the future of this amendment during the discussion of the bill in public session, from January 24th.

A sanction against environmental activists

The senators also increased the sanctions proposed by the government (creating two new offenses) against those who attempt to enter, or enter, by force or deception into a sports arena, and those who enter the competition during a sporting event.

Where the bill proposes to establish, for situations of recidivism or in meetings, on the one hand six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 7,500 euros, on the other a fine of 7,500 euros, the senators want to add penalties for offenses aimed at “isolated first offenders” : they would be fined 3,750 euros in both cases.

“The goal is to avoid a repeat of the troubles observed recently at the Stade de France, on the one hand, and at Roland-Garros, on the other”, underlines the amendment. If the mention of the stadium
de France refers to fraudulent entry attempts, that of Roland-Garros concerns the actions of environmental activists who have, in recent months, interrupted several sporting events, including the Paris tennis tournament.

Genetic tests for the fight against doping beyond the Games

The Culture Commission of the Senate has also adopted an amendment which aims, in the context of the fight against doping, to extend the application of genetic tests, established by the bill relating to the JOP. These would be about “all competitions, international or national, as well as out-of-competition tests”.

The government proposes, during “the period surrounding the Games”to authorize the French anti-doping laboratory of Châtenay-Malabry – which will be located in Orsay from 2023 – to carry out analyzes “consisting of examining the genetic characteristics or comparing the genetic fingerprints of athletes” detect the presence and use of prohibited substances or methods.

The culture commission’s amendment adds to an amendment that should be approved by the Senate law commission on Wednesday 18 January, which aims to extend the duration of the experimentation of these genetic tests beyond just the JOP, “until June 2025”. “If we don’t act, we could suffer a weakening of the skills of the national anti-doping laboratory”advances Claude Kern, who adds it “These tests have already been carried out in Switzerland or Belgium”.

According to the impact study communicated by the government, the volume of genetic analyzes carried out during the previous Games “remains limited as it totaled 25 in Tokyo and 31 in Beijing”.