Euro 2016: Uefa 'powerless' to prevent flares being smuggled into games

European football's governing body has told The Independent it is 'extremely difficult' to ensure no fireworks are taken into stadiums

Mario Mandzukic, the Croatia striker, removing a flare from the field (Getty)

Uefa told The Independent on Saturday night that it was powerless to prevent flares being smuggled into games at its European Championships, after the presence of them in the stands at four individual tournament games raised new questions about the competence of the French security operation, amid the ongoing terror threat.

Flares are a prohibited object and the fact they were smuggled with impunity into Russia’s fixtures against England and Slovakia and Croatia’s matches with Turkey and Czech Republic underlines the need to re-examine the security operation. But Uefa told The Independent that it was “extremely difficult” to prevent fireworks being brought into games.

The hurling of several missiles onto the pitch at the Saint Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard venue, causing the temporary suspension of Croatia’s Group D match with the Czech Republic on Friday, was the biggest indictment of organisational efficiency yet, given that a state of civil war within the Croatian game meant the disorder was by no means unexpected.

Many of Croatia’s support base are deeply disillusioned with the football federation (CFF), with the antipathy running on club lines. Some supporters attached to the Hadjuk Split side are convinced that the national football federation is in the grip of a corrupt cabal linked to their rivals Dinamo Zagreb. The federation’s vice-president, Zdravko Mamic, has been charged with embezzling money from Dinamo when he was chief executive there. Damir Vrbanovic, the federation’s executive director, has also been charged as an accomplice in the same case, which is expected to reach the courts in September.

Both individuals were taken into custody last year amid fears of attempts to influence witnesses, according to the Zagreb-based journalist Aleksandar Holiga. Mamic was subsequently suspended from working at Dinamo but both he and Vrbanovic have retained their jobs at the CFF. Holiga told The Guardian that both men were in the VIP lounge for Croatia’s game against the Czechs.

The throwing of flares on Friday was the latest in a series of protest gestures by supporters who feel the national team has been hijacked and turned it into a personal fiefdom by the pair – along with Davor Suker, the former Real Madrid player and CFF president. At Split’s Poljud Stadium in June 2015, a supporter painted a swastika on the pitch before the Euro 2016 qualifier against Italy – a game that was already played behind closed doors because of crowd trouble at a previous game.

The anti-Dinamo contingent so detest Mamic and Vrbanovic that they consider hurting the team a justifiable course of action. Some believe that only sabotaging coach Ante Cacic’s side and making pariahs of the national football team will bring the CFF to its knees. The fights on the terrace on Friday were between those who are agitating for change by any means – including flares – and others who still support the team and were angered by their actions.

Ivan Perisic asking Croatian supporters to stop throwing flares (Getty)

Uefa issued disciplinary proceedings against Croatia on Saturday for the throwing of objects, crowd disturbance and racist behaviour. The protest will almost certainly see the nation censured by Uefa on Monday and placed on the same suspended disqualification that Russia are operating under. But considering the anti-CFF group’s motives, further use of missiles when the team play Spain in Bordeaux on Tuesday is a real possibility.

The apparent incapability of the football federation to put its house in order was revealed on Saturday when the CFF issued a bizarre statement blaming its own Government and French police for the nation’s fans fighting between themselves and throwing the flares. The federation said the incidents resulted from "the passivity of the Croatian state" which it blamed for not identifying and punishing fans involved in previous incidents over several years. It apologised "to the spectators at Saint-Etienne, to the television audience, and the Czech Republic national football team."

Asked if it would re-examine its security systems in the light of the persistent smuggling of flares, Uefa said: “There have been a few incidents involving the setting off of fireworks inside stadiums during the tournament. Despite thorough body and bag searches at the stadium entrances, it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate the risk that fireworks are brought into the stadiums.

“Spectators who are caught in possession of fireworks are handed over to the authorities. Uefa again urges all spectators to respect the safety of all people in the stadiums including the players and referees on the pitch.”