Greece: digital wallet ticketing system deemed success in measure to curb violent fan behavior

An initiative designed to curb violent fan behavior has been declared a success by Greek officials.

The digital ID system has seen more than 1.01 million tickets identified, with nearly three-quarters in football and the rest in basketball, reports a local publication. The digital entrance system allows entry to stadiums, both in the football Super League and Basketball League, and enables the clear identification of who enters the stadia.

More than 1,000,000 tickets for football and basketball games have been identified through Gov.gr Wallet, our digital wallet,” said the Digital Governance minister. “This is clear proof that citizens have fully understood how the digital stadium entry system works,” Papastergiou claimed.

The measure was announced last February by Alternate Sports Minister Yiannis Vroutis and Digital Governance Minister Dimitris Papastergiou. The system was implemented in April for soccer and in September for basketball last year.

The use of the digital entrance system was aimed to upgrade security in stadiums and was part of measures to combat disorderly and violent fan behavior during games. In Greece, football was played without fans in stadiums for several weeks early last year due to violent crowd incidents, one of which resulted in the death of a police officer.

There are other benefits to the digital system. Since last October, Greek citizens have been able to transfer soccer or basketball season tickets via the digital wallet if they’re digitally authenticated to another person. The application can also read a Greek citizen’s passport and the NFC chip it contains, which is relevant to fans who reside permanently abroad. In addition, it’s possible to change a minor’s escort within the platform.

Football authorities in other European countries, such as Italy and Spain, are planning to deploy technologies like facial recognition in response to violent behavior during matches. The use of biometric authentication is a growing phenomenon in event ticketing.

Article Topics

biometric ticketing  |  biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  Greece  |  identity verification