The Royal Dutch Football Association — KNVB — is developing a fingerprint-operated device that could be used to keep banned fans from entering stadiums.
It uses fingerprint and GPS technology and is being developed by security company G4S to determine whether or not a hooligan is inside or near a stadium he is banned from entering, and the program has already been tested on fans who received reduced bans in exchange for agreeing to participate in the trial, according to the reports.
“You have to identify yourself three times: (once) during the match, and one time before the match and one time after the match,” KNVP spokesman Hans van Kastel told VICE Sports.
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Reportedly, banned fans currently must report to the police station on match days, and the device would transform that process into a digital reporting obligation.
Of course, there are legal and privacy concerns that come with the device.
G4S Netherlands’ René Hiemstra told VICE Sports that fingerprint information would remain on the device and that the monitoring would show whether or not a banned fan was in or outside banned areas rather than his or her exact location.
“In the Netherlands prevention is a big thing,” he said. “We believe in trying to prevent crime (rather) than trying to solve crime. You could see this as that type of measure.”