"Each complaint that has been made has undergone a course of disciplinary proceedings, and some will result in sanctions"

The State Commission Against Violence, Racism, Xenophobia and Intolerance in Sport met for the final time this season on Wednesday morning, 27 May, in the headquarters of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), to take stock of the season, assess the work that has been carried out and look ahead to the challenges it will be faced with in the upcoming campaign.

The secretary of State Security, Francisco Martínez, and the president of the Consejo Superior de Deportes, Miguel Cardenal, presided over the meeting of the Standing ‘Anti-violence' Commission, which was also attended by the general commissioner of Public Safety, Florentino Villabona; the General Chief of Staff of the Deputy Directorate of Operations for the Civil Guard, Antonio Barragán; and LaLiga's Director of Security, Alfredo Lorenzo.

"We would like to emphasise that both the Anti-violence Commission as well as the State's security forces consider the work carried out throughout this year to be a great success. Incidence of insulting and intolerant behaviour within sport had been multiplying up until a few months ago and we all understood that a special effort was required", explained Miguel Cardenal during his speech, which took place after the meeting.

After nine months of work, "and thanks to the help of institutions like LaLiga", the president of the CSD continued, "there has been a reduction in the number of incidents in stadiums as well as the amount of physical and verbal abuse stemming from racism and xenophobia". As the report presented by the Commission shows, there were 1174 recommendations for sanctions this season (1156 related to incidents related to football), a noticeably smaller figure than the 1436 recorded last season.

Martínez, the secretary of State Security, also expressed his satisfaction with the work carried out over the course of the season by the Anti-violence Commission, but pointed to the challenges that still remain: "There has been a marked evolution and a great commitment has been undertaken, but there are still areas that require more work, particularly with regards to misconduct on social networking sites and the internet".

Cardenal once again highlighted the role LaLiga and its president, Javier Tebas, have played in tackling the problem of violence in football: "I would like to express our gratitude to the footballing bodies, especially LaLiga, whose involvement and means have been fundamental during this battle". Additionally, he declared that the Anti-violence Commission "is at ease because each complaint is following its due process" and reminded those in attendance, "all of the complaints presented to us undergo a course of disciplinary proceedings, and some will result in sanctions. Also, the agreements of each federation can be changed by the Anti-violence Commission, so if the sanction enforced by a federation is insufficient, the Commission can then step in".

With respect to the Copa del Rey final, which will take place on Saturday 30 May, Cardenal said that “the Commission will have a presence there" and that, during the meeting, “a decision has been made to send letters to each of the teams taking part and the Real Federación Española de Fútbol (RFEF) to curb any kind of violence and encourage all the parties to adhere to the agreements outlined in the current legislation”.

To conclude, both Miguel Cardenal and Francisco Martínez expressed their desire to continue working together next season. "We want to put an end to this kind of behaviour which is completely contradictory to what sports should embody. As such, we have reaffirmed our commitment to this cause during today's meeting so that this great effort can continue and be renewed for next season", stated Martínez.