Dubai Police aim to stop hooliganism

Dubai: Dubai police have begun a campaign to combat hooliganism of sports fans in the emirate. Under the slogan Live the Sport's Spirit, Dubai police hope to nip hooliganism and bad behaviour at sporting events in the bud.

"This campaign came about according to what we saw in the football stadiums," Major General Mohammad Eid Al Mansouri, Director of the General Department of Organisations Protective Security and Emergency, told Gulf News following the press conference to launch the campaign.

"It's not a big problem, but we saw a few people, not that many. But while it's starting, while it's in its first stages we want to stop it, we don't want this behaviour to grow."

When asked about how many cases of hooliganism have occurred in the emirate, Al Mansoori said, "You can't really say that there are cases, there are very small events that happen in any football match, but the media makes them seem big."

The campaign hopes to spread awareness though seminars, TV programmes, brochures and banners at malls and stadiums and visits to schools and sports events.