Opposition leader says riot police needed at stadiums

Opposition leader Jiří Paroubek says his Social Democrats will propose an amendment to the law which would see the return of riot police to football stadiums across the country. He made the announcement in connection with Sunday’s football violence at a game between Brno and Ostrava, in which ten members of a private security agency were injured before the police intervened and restored order. Under a new regulation introduced by the Interior Ministry football clubs alone are responsible for security at their games and must hire a private agency to maintain order. If they call the police they have to pay for the intervention, which was previously financed from taxpayers’ money.