A small scandal, a major problem- alcohol and sports don't belong together
Source: Active
Friday night, 1st April, in St. Pauli district, Hamburg a football match of the highest German league (Bundesliga) was abandoned. The reason: the assistant referee was hit in the back of his head by a plastic cup full of beer thrown at him from the stands. The match had to be broken off and the referees had to be guided from the pitch by guards.
“Not many in Europe might have paid attention to this incident”, says Andrea Lavesson, President of Active“But we think that the dramatic incident from Friday night stands a symbol for the fact that alcohol and sport does not belong together at all.”
This act of violence occurred shortly after an official hearing on sports in the European Parliament organized by the EPP group (30 March 2011) where the group stressed “the importance of sports. The […] Hearing on Sport […] is a very important step in bringing new ideas and suggestions...” Commissioner Mrs Androulla Vassiliou, among others, expressed the strong role that sport plays in promoting active citizenship.
Andrea Lavesson from Active reacts by saying that “this is certainly right: playing a sport is important especially for young people. Active recommends that sports arenas should be alcohol free and sports idols should not promote alcohol. Alcohol and violence in sports events are correlated. Alcohol selling and serving in and around sports arenas should therefore be abandoned. Sports events should be safe environments to live up to their function of promoting positive values. Sports events should be occasions for family activities. Children and their parents should not need to be worried or stay away.
Andrea Lavesson from Active suggests: “To further strengthen the positive role of sports in young people's lives alcohol sponsorship should be banned. Grown-ups cannot talk about how good sport is for active citizenship and at the same time make sports a premium platform for the alcohol industry to target young people and promote their products that are evidently harmful for young people.”
References:
2.http://www.eppgroup.eu/Press/peve11/docs/110330invitation-sport-hearing_en.pdf