Safety & Security: Raschi at UEFA workshop on crisis management for major events

The management of crisis situations during major events was the main focus of the UEFA workshop held yesterday at the Swiss headquarters in Nyon. Among the representatives of all 55 member associations taking part was San Marino and the FSGC, represented by Security Officer Michele Raschi. The discussion focused specifically on how to manage a crisis during an event and how to work on its prevention, as well as on the response needed to resolve what is happening. The workshop examined three case studies: - The 2017 UEFA Champions League Final in Cardiff between Juventus and Real Madrid, played two weeks after the Manchester attack and on the very day of yet another attack in central London; - Incidents linked to this season’s UEFA Europa Conference League matches AZ Alkmaar–Legia Warsaw and AZ Alkmaar–West Ham; - The terrorist attack just hours before Belgium–Sweden in October 2023 (European Qualifiers for EURO 2024). Each incident, whether it occurred inside the stadium or many kilometres away, had a major impact on the normal running of operations: from crowd management to stadium access, through to the monitoring of city fan zones and the restrictions imposed by local authorities. Looking more closely at the details, several key points for a tailored, ad hoc management of these so‑called major events emerged: the importance of the role and responsibility of the Public Security authorities, who have primary responsibility for crisis management; information sharing and coordination activities by the Security Officer together with the police authorities, UEFA officials, the teams involved and the UEFA Match Commander Center; awareness that there is very little time in which to react in order to avoid an escalation of the crisis; and the need to ensure that all stakeholders involved are aligned with what has been planned. In the afternoon, the workshop continued with group work to address three different scenarios drawn from the case studies listed above, sharing which actions to take and how to manage each individual phase of the crises described.

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