Abuses around football stadiums have been a major problem for some times, these abuses range from riots to insults. These stadium abuses are common in many parts of the world, from the lower leagues to the highest leagues. The consequences of the abuses vary from the fact that single supporters or entire supporter groups are no longer allowed to be present at matches to fatalities, as unfortunately recently in Indonesia (Baraputri & Davids, 2022).
In the Netherlands “smart” cameras are used for a few years in several stadiums, these cameras can analyse behaviour and recognize faces. The images from the cameras are then analysed by using artificial intelligence and machine learning (Ministry of Health, wellbeing and sports, 2022). Artificial Intelligence is the capacity of a computer thinking as a rational human and machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that can predict new data based on processed data (Grewal, 2020).
With the introduction of this technology the amount of stadium bans has risen sharply in the Netherlands (Sportredactie, 2022). However, there are still a lot of events that the KNVB would rather keep out the stadiums like fireworks. In the United States they use scanners that can detect objects, these scanners will detect more than the search of stewards in stadiums (Cohen, 2022). This could be a potential solution for the KNVB to tackle problems like fireworks and arms around football matches.
However, all these technologies do invade the privacy of the supporters, this does not take into account the fact that the problems are often caused by a few individuals while all the supporters are affected with these technologies.
Looking at the situation in the Netherlands considering the privacy problem, the question that arises is whether we should let go of minor abuses such as fireworks or whether we should tackle any form of abuses. In my opinion, the possible application of the systems as in the United States would not outweigh the privacy breach as long as abuses such as fireworks do not result in injuries. I also think that the data collected by the cameras should be handled very carefully, this data should remain encrypted as much as possible and may only be used by the authorities in case of serious individual suspicion.
The football stadiums are just one example where major technological developments have created a field of tension between technology and privacy. Another example of this tension is emotion ai, in which people’s emotions can be traced during certain actions (grocery shopping for example). In my opinion, the government will therefore have to rigorously assess whether the interests of the technology outweigh the invasion of privacy and regulation must be introduced where necessary!
Baraputri, V. & Davids, M. (2022, 2 oktober). Indonesia: At least 125 dead in football stadium crush. BBC News viewed on 13 october 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-63105945
Cohen, A. (2022, September 16). Evolv Security Screening Technology Is Finding Success Among Sports Venues as Frictionless Fan Experience Is Prioritized. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.sporttechie.com/evolv-security-screening-technology-frictionless-fan-experience-sports-venues
Grewal, P. D. S. (2014). A Critical Conceptual Analysis of Definitions of Artificial Intelligence as Applicable to Computer Engineering. IOSR Journal of Computer Engineering, 16(2), 09–13. https://doi.org/10.9790/0661-16210913
Ministry of Health, wellbeing and sports. (2021, May 18). De inzet van slimme technologie in voetbalstadions voor de aanpak van discriminatie en racisme. Rijksoverheid.nl. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/documenten/rapporten/2021/05/18/de-inzet-van-slimme-technologie-in-voetbalstadions-voor-de-aanpak-van-discriminatie-en-racisme
Sportredactie. (2022, October 12). KNVB legt 1250 landelijke stadionverboden op: ‘Daders komen er niet mee weg.’ AD.nl. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.ad.nl/nederlands-voetbal/knvb-legt-1250-landelijke-stadionverboden-op-daders-komen-er-niet-mee-weg~af561ffa/
Interesting discussion! I agree with you that it is not desirable to include all supporters on this technology. However, I think a pssible solution might be to make an estimation of the areas in the staudium that are the most likely to cause trouble. Since each area has its own entrance, maybe these extra risky areas coulb be checked by such tehnology, leaving the rest of the stadium out of it.
I like the discussion about privacy in football stadiums! While I am a big proponent of ensuring privacy, I think stricter measures need to be put in place to improve behavior in stadiums. Stadium bans do not seem to work because there is no check on who enters upon entry. With stricter measures, this could possibly be countered better and I – as a privacy-conscious soccer fan – have no problem with that if it is done in a decent way.