Published
2024-02-06
Inappropriate behaviour in the East Stand during Union - STVV
Following reports from female fans about unwanted touching in the standing stand during Union - STVV, our club is in contact with the police to identify the perpetrators. The club absolutely wants our stadium to be a safe place for everyone and for everyone in the stadium to feel safe too. The club itself will also take measures so that inappropriate intimacies can be reported immediately.
We will immediately ban this unacceptable behaviour from our stands. For the next matches (away at Bruges and at home against Westerlo), our stewards have been briefed to intervene immediately if any sort of inapporpriate behaviour is observed. Stewards and security personnel are also the first point of contact for those who feel unsafe. For home matches, this will also be visibly announced on the led boarding.
The club will then sit down in the coming days and weeks with experts and local organisations experienced in organising large events with attention to the safety and integrity of every person in our stadium. By doing so, we want to set up a very efficient reporting system for security.
Our CEO has already personally replied to the letter the female fans sent us on Sunday (4/02). Philippe Bormans: "The club had already started implementing procedures to increase the safety of everyone in the stands during matchdays, on the street and in our Club House. And these procedures will now be developed immediately with a focus on tackling all forms of sexism and misogyny."
Those who were responsible for touching our female fans will be identified by the police and prosecuted. These 'fans' will never again be deemed as welcome in our stadium.