Presentation of the country's main government and sports institutions:

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• Ministry of Sport
• Ministry of Police
• Ministry of Justice

Main sports in the country:

• Swiss Foundation for the Promotion of Sport / Swiss Football League
• Ice Hockey
• Skiing

• National Olympic Committee

Last major sports events organised since 2000:

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• Men’s European Football Championships 2008, Basel - Bern - Geneva - Zurich
• Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships 2009, Bern - Zurich-Kloten
• Ski Alpine World Championships 2003, St. Moritz
• Ski Alpine World Championships 2017, St. Moritz

Future major sports events organised and/or co-organised within the next 5 years:

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• UEFA Women’s EURO 2025
• Men’s Ice Hockey World Championships 2026, Zurich - Fribourg

The country's main sports competitions:

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• Men’s Football club competitions: Super League - Challenge League - Swiss Cup - UEFA Champions League - UEFA Europa League - UEFA Conference League
• Men’s Football National Team competitions
• Men’s Ice Hockey club competitions: National League - Swiss League - Champions Hockey League
• Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup races, Adelboden
• Men’s Alpine Skiing World Cup races, Wengen
• Women’s Alpine Skiing World Cup races, St. Moritz

Supporter organisations involved at national level in representing supporters to public authorities or sports federations:

• Football: “Fanarbeit Suisse” Fanarbeit: Home - Fanarbeit Suisse (Fanarbeit Suisse no longer exists since the end of 2021, continuation of this work not yet determined.)
• Ice Hockey: Fanarbeit Swiss Ice Hockey Security | Swiss Ice Hockey Federation (sihf.ch)

National legal framework on sports safety and security, including specific legal provisions:

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• Concordat instituant des mesures contre la violence lors de manifestations sportives;
• Loi fédérale instituant des mesures visant au maintien de la sûreté intérieure, article 24a, article 24c
• Loi fédérale sur les explosifs
• Code pénal Suisse

Existence of specific safety, security and/or service public policies:      

There is no specific law on safety, security and service, however, the laws mentioned in the legal section add up to some of these concerns.         
Additionally, police forces use the 3D-Philosophy at sports events. The three Ds are dialogue, de-escalation and impose/enforce (“durchsetzen”) which are applied in that order. The philosophy shall assure that before any hard measures are being taken any situation arising should be dissolved through dialogue and de-escalation first.    
Police authorities may order stadium bans, area bans, obligations to report, police custody and travel bans for violent people. As well football and ice hockey clubs may order stadium bans.

Existence of regional / local strategies on safety, security and service:

The local authorities and the state police are in direct contact with the local Football and Ice Hockey clubs. They set the conditions to be followed for sporting events.

Major risks and trends on sport-related violence and disorder:

• Violations of the Explosives Act are widespread in Swiss football and the risk of pyrotechnics being set off is always high. Likewise, many cases of riots are recorded. Other violent incidents also pose a risk (e.g., brawls, violence and threats against public officials). In ice hockey, the same types of offenses are recorded, but to a lower extent.

Last major incidents which seem relevant and enlightening on the need to adopt an integrated approach to safety, security and service:

• Football: 04/06/2023, Swiss Cup (final), BSC Young Boys – FC Lugano

A total of about 10,000 BSC Young Boys fans gathered in the city centre and then marched to the stadium. Several pyrotechnical objects were set off along the entire route. While the Ultras from Lugano travelled by train, the emergency brake was pulled and the fire alarm was triggered, which led to delays. On arrival in Bern, several pyrotechnical objects were set off by the guest fans. During the game, various pyrotechnical objects were set off on both sides.

Approximately 4,000 BSC Young Boys fans entered the pitch for the cup ceremony. However, there were no problems on the pitch. The Young Boys supporters stayed in the stadium for a long time and celebrated their team. The majority of the Lugano fans left quickly after the end of the match and they boarded the extra trains. Outside the stadium, there was a physical altercation (possibly grievous bodily harm) between HC Lugano fans and their friends from Geneva (Servette FC). The trigger may have been different political attitudes. The police had to use pepper spray and truncheons to separate the parties.

• Football: 20/05/2023, National League, FC Luzern – FC St. Gallen 1879

Before the match, a brawl broke out in St. Gallen. Between 50 and 70 Lucerne fans travelled to St. Gallen and got into a fight with supporters from FC St. Gallen. No injuries have been reported, but one uninvolved car was damaged. The guest fans arrived with two extra trains and several private cars. The visiting fans gathered and marched along the approved route to the stadium. From the beginning of the march, the guest fans set off numerous firecrackers and hand-held flares. There was also a short brawl with some provocative home fans. During the match, numerous hand-held flares were lit, especially in the visitors' sector. The match had to be interrupted briefly due to the smoke.

After the end of the match, the home fans marched along their route without incident. Then they waited in front of a restaurant for the guest fans to march through. The visiting fans marched back to the train station Lucerne along the authorised route. During the march, there were several incidents of damage to property and spray-painting. Pyros were set off and the police had to intervene several times to ensure that the route was followed. In front of the restaurant where the home fans were waiting, there was a lot of rioting despite the presence of the police. Both fan groups threw pyrotechnical objects, stones and other objects at each other and at the police. The police had to use rubber pellets, pepper spray, irritant gas and water cannons, which finally forced the guest fans away. However, all kinds of projectiles continued to be thrown in the direction of the police and the situation could only be brought under control through the massive use of resources. At least four visiting fans were injured during the rioting and were taken to the hospital. Various onlookers made the police work more difficult through provocative behaviour and failure to follow police instructions. The responsible Swiss authorities have decided to close the guest sector each time the two teams meet during the season 2023/2024.

Graph of the evolution of total incidents over the last years:

The following statistics provide a total overview of the number of games played over the past four seasons, categorised by the level of severity of the incidents. The green games do not mean that no incidents have occurred. Further, many minor incidents (e.g., burning pyrotechnics, assaults, etc.) can lead to a yellow or red game.

Example: In season 2018/2019 426 games (first and second league and Swiss Cup) have been played. In 68 of them violent incidents with particular severity occurred.

For more detailed information, such as the number of different incidents per season in football and ice hockey, we refer to our public statistics: Présentation électronique de la situation sportive suisse (reporting PESSS) (admin.ch)

For further information we also refer to our public statistics of the HOOGAN database. The HOOGAN database contains information on people who have engaged in violence at sporting events either in Switzerland or abroad and who are subject to one of the measures imposed by the authorities: Current Statistics of the HOOGAN database (admin.ch)