Stadium ban

Verified 28 July 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Do you want to know how safety in stadiums is guaranteed during a sporting event? It can be done by individually prohibiting a person from entering a stadium where a match is taking place. This measure ofban on stade is said administrative if it's taken by the prefect. It's said judicial if it is taken by a court. You can't have an administrative ban and a judicial ban at the same time.

Administrative

The ban administrative Staging helps prevent or punish violence in stadiums.

She forbids you from entering a stadium where a game is held. It may also prohibit you from going around the stadium.

The stadium administrative ban can be taken against you if you threaten to disturb public order, by any of the following:

  • Your behavior during matches
  • Acts of violence, racism committed during a match
  • Your membership in a group of supporters dissolved or suspended by the prefect for acts of violence and/or racism

You may be administratively banned at the stadium even if you have never been convicted by the court.

The action is taken by the prefect (the police commissioner, in Paris). It takes the form of a decree. It is not a penalty in the strict sense, but a preventive measure.

The decree specifies the scope of the ban (level of competition, teams concerned...).

The ban may also require you to respond to police or gendarmerie summonses at games you are not allowed to attend.

Presentations to law enforcement may also be required at certain matches played abroad.

The prefect takes his arrest without auditioning yourself. The measurement is then given to you notified.

The order specifies the grounds for prohibition.

You are registered in the national stadium ban register.

Your identity is also passed on to sports clubs and federations.

The administrative stadium ban may last 2 years maximum.

Please note

If you have already been banned from the stadium in the previous 3 years, the new measure can last up to 3 years.

You can challenge the stadium administrative ban before the administrative tribunal. You have to go to the administrative court on which the prefecture that made the decision depends.

Who shall I contact

If you don't comply with the prohibition, you risk 1 year of prison and €3,750 of fine.

Judicial

The ban judicial Staging helps prevent or punish violence in stadiums.

She forbids you from entering a stadium where a game is held. It may also prohibit you from going around the stadium.

The judicial stadium ban can be taken against you if you have been convicted of one of the following offenses:

  • Violence during a match even outside a stadium
  • Introducing alcoholic beverages or entering a stadium while intoxicated
  • Incitement to hatred (even without racist motives) or violence, wearing racist badges during a match
  • Introduction or use of smoke bombs, carrying a weapon or throwing any object that can be used as a weapon (stick, projectile...) in a stadium
  • Land invasion
  • Participation in a group of supporters dissolved or suspended by the prefect

The measure is a criminal sanction pronounced by a court. It's a additional penalty in addition to a prison term or a fine.

The court specifies the scope of the prohibition (level of competition, teams involved...).

You must respond to police or gendarmerie summonses at games that are forbidden to you.

Presentations to law enforcement may also be required at certain matches played abroad.

You are registered in the national stadium ban register.

Your identity is also passed on to sports clubs and federations.

Judicial prohibition of stadium may last 5 years maximum.

You can challenge the judicial stadium ban in the Court of Appeal.

Who shall I contact

If you don't comply with the prohibition, you risk 2 years of prison and €30,000 of fine.

Who can help me?

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