Slovan does not give up before the key fight with PAOK Thessaloniki: The godfather sent an open letter to the government! – Sports

BRATISLAVA – The management of the ŠK Slovan Bratislava football club addressed an open letter to competent persons on Friday in connection with a significant reduction in the number of spectators at mass sports events. General director of the club Ivan Kmotrík ml. in it he asked for a change in the Covid vending machine, specifically measures relating to mass events.

According to the changes in the COVID vending machine announced on Thursday by the Government of the Slovak Republic, only 200 spectators can be present at the mass event in the Red District in the OP mode (vaccinations and overcoming).

The Slavic management addressed an open letter to the Prime Minister Eduard Heger, the Chairman of the National Council Boris Kollár, the Deputy Prime Minister Štefan Holý, Richard Sulík and Igor Matovič, the Deputy Prime Minister Veronika Remišová, the Chief Hygienist of the Slovak Republic Ján Mikas, the Minister of Health Vladimír Lengvar , research and sports of the Slovak Republic Branislav Gröhling, Chairman of the Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic for Education, Science, Youth and Sports Richard Vašeček. The club also sent a request for help to SFZ President Ján Kováčik and ÚLK President Ivan Kozák.

We present the open letter of ŠK Slovan Bratislava in full text without editorial changes:

Dear Mr. Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic,

We are contacting you with a request to change the Covid vending machine approved by the Government of the Slovak Republic on November 18, 2021, and specific measures concerning mass events.

We understand and are aware of the seriousness of the situation with the spread of Covid-19 in Slovakia and we value all those who fight against this disease in the first line.

ŠK Slovan Bratislava has always been proactive in this topic, proposing safe solutions for the possibility of spectator participation in the stadium, and many times adhering to measures beyond their set framework.

A decade match to advance to the round of 16

We are all the more sorry that less than a week before perhaps the most important match of the decade, in which we represent not only Bratislava but also the whole of Slovakia at the highest international club level, the maximum permitted capacity in the red district of 200 spectators was approved. For the first time in the last 15 years, the Slovak football club has a real chance to advance from the group stage of the European Cup among the 16 best clubs of the UEFA European Conference League. In such an important match, our players lose the support of the fans and the legitimate advantage of the home environment that this competition guarantees us. It is a cruel blow not only for the club, but also for the players, all the fans, the general football public, with great not only economic consequences now and in the future. We do not understand for what logical reason or with what formula the maximum capacity of 200 spectators was calculated, for example in our stadium with a capacity of 22,500 spectators. We believed that a system solution would remain in place that would take into account the percentage of the stadium’s total capacity, and not one fixed absolute number for any stadium or event. Such a solution included the Covid slot machine, which was previously in force. We are disappointed that we are not moving forward through an unsystematic decision, but backwards.

“Vaccine is freedom” or how is it in Slovakia?

Bratislava has the highest vaccination rate in Slovakia. Not only the people of Bratislava, but all of them in Slovakia, were motivated by the motto “Vaccine is freedom” during the campaign and rightly believed that in addition to protecting their health, they will also experience the mentioned freedom associated with returning to normal life. The new measures for mass events have completely denied the whole “Vaccine is Freedom” campaign and we will say that it will have a great negative impact not only on football fans, young athletes, sports fans, their families, friends and comrades, but also on another wide range of public. These measures may result in greater reluctance and reluctance of the people of Slovakia to be vaccinated.

Research has confirmed that stadiums are safe

We are convinced, and even hard data suggests, that football stadiums do not pose a risk in the spread of Covid-19. A Danish SAFE study on a sample of 170 matches from April-May 2021, which was attended by a total of 266,259 fans, revealed only 60 positive cases out of this total, which corresponds to a spread of 0.02%. The results clearly show that participation in a football match, in the fresh air and in an open stadium is safe.

100% capacity in the surrounding and other countries

The epidemiological situation is deteriorating across Europe and the world. Nevertheless, even in our immediate surrounding countries, they approach mass events diametrically differently and allow the vaccinated to fill one hundred percent of the stadium’s capacity. This approach has been taken, for example, in the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Spain, Italy, Germany, England, the USA, Canada and other countries.

Proposed alternative solutions The new measures in force from next Monday allow 200 spectators to visit the OP regime, all of whom can be in one sector, sit next to each other and enter and exit at one turnstile. Based on the above, as well as hard data from the Danish study and developments in the surrounding and other countries, we therefore propose the following three alternative solutions:

Alternative 1: Same model as in the surrounding countries

Applying a model from the above surrounding countries, where vaccinated fans can fill one hundred percent of the stadium’s capacity.

Alternative 2: Two hundred spectators for each sector

Tehelné pole stadium has 58 separate sectors. Therefore, as a second alternative, we propose a maximum capacity of one sector per 200 spectators, which will represent the permitted capacity in the OP mode of 11,660 spectators.

Alternative 3: One hundred spectators per sector

Tehelné pole stadium has 58 separate sectors. Therefore, as a third alternative, we propose a maximum capacity of one sector per 100 spectators, which will represent the allowed capacity in the OP mode of 5800 spectators.

Please note that the stadium has 70 separate entrance and exit turnstiles, which in the first alternative would represent 166 people per turnstile, and in the second alternative 83 people per turnstile. In both cases, there are fewer people per entry and exit than at an absolute 200 spectators, as the modified Covid slot machine says.

We are convinced and we believe that the above arguments, facts and data and our proposed solutions will take you to the quickest possible decision and change of measures related to mass events in the new Covid vending machine, so that we can ensure the organization of the next extremely important football match ŠK Slovan Bratislava – PAOK FC, which will take place on November 25 at 6:45 pm at the Tehelné pole stadium in Bratislava.

Sincerely, Ivan Kmotrík Jr., General Director of ŠK Slovan Bratislava

• The author: © List
• Source: TASR