A team of Council of Europe experts carried out a monitoring visit to Türkiye, from 8 to 11 November 2024, to assess its approach to the organisation of football matches and other sports events. The aim of the visit was to support the Turkish authorities in the effective implementation of the safety, security and service standards of the Saint-Denis Convention, to which Türkiye has been a party since 1 July 2020.
The team included participants from Romania (Chair of the Saint-Denis Committee and Chair of the Advisory Group on Monitoring, of the Saint-Denis Committee), and from the United Kingdom (rapporteur and safety expert), as well as an observer from UEFA.
The monitoring team was welcomed by the Deputy Director General of the General Directorate of the International Organisations and Foreign Relations, of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and had the opportunity to meet several relevant stakeholders, including from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Interior (Directorate General for Security / National Football Information Point), the Ministry of Justice (Public Prosecutor’s Office), the Turkish Football Association, as well as the six Super League’s football clubs from Istanbul (Beşiktaş, Galatasaray, Fenerbahçe, İKAS Eyüpspor, Kasımpaşa and Rams Başakşehir Football Club) and their Safety Officers, Supporter Liaison Officers (SLO) and Disability Liaison Officers (DAO). The delegation also attended a football Super League match between Galatasaray and Samsunspor on 10 November (Rams Park Stadium – Istanbul).
The visit was the third of a series of monitoring visits to be carried out between 2023 and 2025, in accordance with the Monitoring Guidelines of the Saint-Denis Convention. The findings, recommendations and best practices identified will be included in the monitoring report adopted by the Saint-Denis Committee and transmitted to the Turkish authorities for the implementation of its tailored recommendations.
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