'Violence has no place in sport': Luxembourg sports minister on outbreaks of aggression at children's matches

Luxembourg's Minister of Sport, Georges Mischo, has condemned the growing number of violent incidents at sporting events involving children, including the recent incidents at Bous, Soleuvre and Merl. In an interview with L'essentiel, he emphasised that "such scenes are unacceptable - neither as a minister nor as a father of two youngsters active in sport, I cannot accept it".

According to the minister, such situations are not a new phenomenon: "There have always been parents who behaved inappropriately at the edge of the field. But nowadays it is becoming public more quickly because of social networks, where anyone can make a video at any time. Mischo believes the root of the problem is that some parents (and sometimes coaches) project unfulfilled ambitions of their own onto their children. "But sport should be a pleasure for children, not an arena for fulfilling other people's expectations," he emphasises.

Team sports such as football, handball or basketball are most prone to this phenomenon. "In individual competitions - for example in running or swimming - there is less cause for conflict due to disputed refereeing decisions," the minister explains.

Mischo said he is already discussing the issue with federations, including the president of the football federation, Paul Philipp, and proposes to develop a joint campaign involving the ministry, federations and sports clubs to promote a culture of respect on and off the field.

But, he said, one campaign is not enough. "Banners calling for fair-play are already hanging in stadiums, but that's not enough. The main thing is to integrate non-violence and respect into the coaches' training programme at INAPS (National Institute of Physical Education and Sport)." It is coaches, Mischo believes, who have a key responsibility in the education of athletes: "They work with children several times a week and have to develop values, including the ability to lose honourably. Sometimes defeats teach you more than victories.