Identification is disputed – Newspaper Kommersant No. 39 (7484) of 03/09/2023

The State Duma and the Moscow City Duma this week attended to the problem of introducing fan cards – Fan ID. The cause of concern was the almost empty stadiums at the first matches of the Russian Football Championship after the break. In this regard, several deputies turned to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with a request to cancel the system for identifying fans, and the Duma communists suggested that United Russia prepare a joint bill on this topic. United Russia was skeptical about the proposal, and presidential aide Igor Levitin made it clear that the issue of canceling Fan ID is not worth it. Nevertheless, the expert believes that against the backdrop of a special operation, when unity and patriotism are expected from society, concessions from the authorities would be quite logical.

Vitaly Milonov, a United Russia deputy from St. Petersburg, was the first to raise the football topic in the State Duma. On March 6, he announced that he had prepared an appeal addressed to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin with a request to cancel the operation of the fan card system until the gaps in its work were eliminated.

According to MP Vitaly Milonov, numerous complaints from fans confirm that Fan ID slows down the development of spectator sports rather than enhances security at public events.

Mr. Milonov is receiving signals that the new system has “literally “depopulated” domestic stadiums”, and this leaves clubs and match organizers without income. In this regard, United Russia believes that “the government must respond and take the necessary steps to protect and support mass spectator sports.”

The communist Sergei Obukhov immediately responded to the initiative of the opponent, who declared “RIA News”that the Communist Party faction in the State Duma is ready, in collaboration with United Russia (ER), to prepare a project on the partial cancellation of fan cards. “Without waiting for inter-party negotiations and the development of a new bill, I have already sent a deputy request to Prime Minister Mishustin with a proposal to resolve the issue of withdrawing domestic competitions from the Fan ID system by a government decree,” Mr. Obukhov told Kommersant. According to him, at the level of private conversations, many United Russia members “understand everything” and are in favor of the partial abolition of Fan ID. “But at the same time, they all refer to the political decision of the leadership of the faction. After the end of the regional week, when the leadership of all factions returns to Moscow, it is possible to discuss this issue not at the deputy level, but at the leadership level,” the communist added. He recalled that back in the summer of 2022, the Communist Party of the Russian Federation submitted a bill to the Duma to abolish Fan ID, so United Russia will have to decide anyway. “If the deputies of the United Russia are from Milonov to Zhurova (Svetlana Zhurova, Olympic champion in speed skating.— “b”) will put pressure on their leadership and it will agree to introduce a new bill on the exclusion of the domestic championship from this system, then the Communist Party of the Russian Federation is ready for collective work, ”summed up the deputy.

The party comrade was also supported by a member of the Moscow City Duma commission on security, sports and youth policy, Viktor Maksimov, who prepared a draft appeal from the capital’s parliament to the government of the Russian Federation with a proposal to cancel Fan ID. As the deputy recalls, back in February 2022, fan associations of all clubs in the Russian Premier League announced that they would not attend matches until the Fan ID law was repealed. “Coaches of Russian football clubs also expressed dissatisfaction with the new fan identification system, saying that after its introduction, the stands were very empty. According to sports Internet portals, after the introduction of Fan ID, match attendance in certain cities of Russia fell by 66-72%, ”the communist writes. In his opinion, the face recognition system at the entrance to the stadium and the verification of ticket holders fully allow maintaining the safety of spectators at a high level.

Dmitry Svishchev (LDPR), the head of the State Duma’s profile committee on physical culture and sports, on the contrary, urged not to rush to conclusions: according to him, you must first understand the reasons for the absence of fans at football matches and the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Digital Development should respond to this in the first place.

“It can be winter, Fan ID, the general mood in connection with the NWO, the economic situation in the country, any other reasons, or all of them. I want to get an answer from them, because they keep statistics, or at least they should keep it – the Ministry of Digital Development for sure. And after that we will draw conclusions,” Mr. Svishchev said to the publication. “Lenta.ru”.

Roman Teryushkov, a member of the State Duma Sports Committee, was even more skeptical about the initiatives of his colleagues. The spectator identification system “is implemented and works without any complaints,” he assured Kommersant: “You can get a fan ID using the State Services service in a matter of minutes. According to the procedure, a one-time personal visit to the MFC is currently required, and soon we can expect a simplification of the procedure – without a personal visit.” Talk about a decrease in attendance, according to United Russia, “has no basis,” since the card “does not limit the right to attend sports events in any way”: according to him, the number of refusals to issue a Fan ID is only 47 per 500 thousand (0, 0094%). As for the fan boycott, Mr. Teryushkov admits, it is caused by the fact that “a certain core of ultras has offenses and, accordingly, they will be denied a card.” “In an attempt to oppose law and order and stadium safety, this group puts pressure on law-abiding fans not to go to stadiums. Deputies Obukhov and Milonov should direct their energy to this question. In a state governed by the rule of law, it is unacceptable for one organized group of citizens to dominate law-abiding fans,” the deputy summed up.

On March 7, the assistant to the president of the Russian Federation, the first vice-president of the Russian Olympic Committee, Igor Levitin, spoke in the same spirit, noting that the question of canceling Fan ID is not on the table today.

“The decision has been made, the system has been activated. If there are any questions about the design, it needs to be corrected, ”the official said. “RIA News”.

Political scientist Konstantin Kalachev believes that the proposals to introduce Fan ID were based not only on the experience of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, but also on fears related to the activity of fan groups and the memory of the unrest in the center of Moscow in the summer of 2002 after the Russian team lost to the Japanese. But now, against the backdrop of a special operation in Ukraine, football fans are demonstrating patriotism, volunteering, participating in hostilities, the expert emphasizes: “Football communities in other countries could play on the side of the opposition, we have the opposite. Football communities in the new conditions are becoming carriers of the idea of ​​rallying around the flag, rallying points for ultra-patriots.” The authorities have no reason to be afraid of them in matters of politics, so it is hardly worth creating irritants that interfere with dialogue, Mr. Kalachev argues: “Football communities are united by dissatisfaction with the introduction of Fan ID. But the problem is even deeper, because football performs an important social function. Football is more than a sport, more than letting off steam. It is simply illogical to deprive the people of the opportunity to freely go to stadiums without problems and efforts in an environment where the authorities are aimed at rallying society and obtaining its support. Concessions are overdue, the deputies feel this and want to promote themselves on this topic, but “the best PR could have been received by the authorities if they simply admitted a mistake,” the political scientist concludes.

Elena Rozhkova, Maria Makutina