One would have thought that the head of the justice of St. Gallen, Fredi Fessler (SP), had found old documents of his predecessor Karin Keller-Sutter (FDP) in a desk drawer. The spirit of repression has returned.

Demand for personalized tickets and mandatory seats in Swiss stadiums sounds the same as it did 20 years ago. And even then it would be nothing more than helpless symbolic politics.

Of course, any form of violence inside and outside the stadium is condemned, unacceptable and must be punished. But there are already enough funds for this – not only with the hooligan concordat, which is sometimes interpreted very generously.

When Fessler says that “the problem has been around for 15 years,” it just shows ignorance. There were regular fights in the 1980s, and racism was also prevalent in many corners.

With the shift from hooliganism to ultras in the mid-1990s, the curves changed. They became more diverse, the realities of society were increasingly manifested in the stadiums.

Meanwhile, violent incidents in stadiums have become rare. This is also evidenced by the fact that more and more people visit the stadiums, they feel safe there – if this were not the case, it is unlikely that Kibunpark would regularly be so full.

If the government of St. Gallen is now campaigning for personalized tickets and compulsory seats, then this is pure activism. Fans in the curves are unlikely to stay in their assigned places, they will continue to stand where it is convenient for them. In addition, almost all the names of these fans are already known to the clubs, because the vast majority of them have an annual subscription.

These personalized tickets and the lack of standing room are useless in the event of unrest outside the stadiums.

Other solutions are required. Fan workers across Switzerland are doing an important job here and they need more support. You know the ultras pulse. You can look for dialogue at an early stage – with fans, politicians, police and clubs.

You can also start with the police. He has long complained about being overworked, constantly understaffed, and having to do more and more errands. In such situations, mistakes happen faster and their mood gets irritated faster. Whether it was in Lucerne, it is necessary to find out.

There are many ways to curb fan violence. Repression in stadiums is not one of them. It’s just symbolic politics and cheap populism – just another level of escalation. And certainly not the path that all parties should now take.