Amsterdam Arena to bar troublemakers via fingerprint scans

It looks like those crazed individuals who somehow managed to escape from the nation's video game addict rehab center won't be sneaking into major football events to stir up trouble anymore, as Amsterdam Arena has launched a trial program to scan the fingerprints of football fans before letting them enter as they try to better "exclude known troublemakers" from making it to the stands. While European soccer football matches are known to elicit tremendous passion from both parties, oftentimes resulting in violent behavior, the biometric scanners will hopefully curb the conflicts as it better enforces bans to precious offenders. Reportedly, the system will initially be at home games of Ajax, Feyenoord and Vitesse, and if it seems to go over well (read: enraged fans chill out), it could be rolled out in a few more locales later this year.

[Via BBC, thanks Stewart D.]

[Eric @ Jan 26th 2007 4:25AM]

Yes, those precious offenders should be banned.

[Mills @ Jan 26th 2007 5:06AM]

Crazy Dutch bastards :-)

[Filip @ Jan 26th 2007 6:01AM]

Sudden caption competition!

The young guard wannabees think: "Mmmm.... pistachio green"

[Hendrik @ Jan 26th 2007 6:38AM]

It's terrible! You cannot even go to a football match without beeing checked. Do you want them to have your Biometric data afterwards?
I would not go to any match, if the only possibility is to provide them with all my data.

I would really like to know where they get the "BlackLists" from? And what kind of lists they use. Wouldn't suprise me if they have some long long long "Suspected Terrorist" lists that fell out a Datamining Algorithm - so if you are between 20-30 + from an Islamic country + technical studies + ... you might be denied to watch the match.

[Chris @ Jan 26th 2007 6:46AM]

Hendrik, it's not an anti-terrorism device, it's to keep out the fans who have a history of causing a ruckus.

[LS @ Jan 26th 2007 7:55AM]

They should be denied access on the basis of those horrendous jackets alone.

Pity this comes a tad too late to prevent Feyenoord getting booted out of this year's UEFA Cup competition due to crowd violence...presumably with shekshi conshequenshes

[justin @ Jan 26th 2007 9:56AM]

nice, you would think something like this would have already been implemented. To bad it doesn't have a trap door that goes down into a fire pit :D

http://www.wiiuser.org

[Chasqui @ Jan 26th 2007 11:21AM]

Chris, I beg to differ - Hendirk is right:
This is touted as a way to stop hooligans in soccer matches - but the data captured will be too tempting. It WILL be used for other things.

At first people will love it: - A wanted criminal goes to a match and is ID'd by their fingerprints and is nabbed.
(the public gets behind the plan of having these scanners installed everywhere!)
But then other (noble, but less easily accepted) uses are envisioned. Outstanding parking fine? Nabbed. Owe child support? What are you doing spending on a soccer match? Nabbed. Etc. Of course terrorism will be one of the uses. Can't wait for this to makes its way to the USA... oh what fun it will be when there is a cock-up with the watch lists.

[Joseph @ Jan 26th 2007 3:34PM]

subtitle should be
New eBay Hot Item of the Week: Fake Fingerprint Kit (Novelty)

[Jeff Stoelker @ Jan 26th 2007 8:46PM]

I wonder if people who break the law go to court in the stadium.