«Panama». It is the code word that triggers the “life-saving” protocol for English fans ahead of tomorrow’s match, Sunday 16 June, against Serbia. A match which on a hypothetical security alarm scale from 1 to 10 could reach a level 11. Naturally the security measures put in place by the German organizers and police are impressive. But they may not be enough. So to the fans ofEngland that they felt “unsafe” or “threatened” was said, in fact, to say “Panama” to the police or a member of the tournament staff.
The entire sentence is “Which way to Panama?”, as if you wanted to ask for information, but even just saying “Panama” will make it clear that whoever is speaking needs immediate help in the chaos expected in Gelsenkirchen between the English and the Serbs. As the British newspaper explained Telegraphstaff will have to “immediately offer the possibility of a place to retreat” to the person in difficulty and activate “a multilingual team that has been trained in crisis intervention, non-violent communication and de-escalation”.
In Germany it is not the first time that such a protocol has been activated. It has already been used in some of the races Bundesliga and in major musical events. “All law enforcement partners in the city, such as the fire brigade, the police and the municipal public order service, as well as the entire Euro2024 staff on site, know the Panama rules and we can react accordingly,” he said Wilhelm Wessels, responsible for the Euro 2024 project in Gelsenkirchen.
Not everyone, however, agrees with this initiative: «If you are in a bar and you have a whole group of Serbian thugs threatening you, Panama will be the last thing on your mind…», said Simon Harris, veteran member of theEngland Supporters Travel Club. The match between England and Serbia is the only one in all the European Championships for which it was imposed the sale of only beer with zero alcohol. And English supporters were even advised to smoke cannabis rather than drink beer. In fact, since April 1st, Germany has joined the list of countries that have legalized cannabis for personal use. In fact, on German soil there was already a law that allowed the cultivation and consumption of cannabis in limited quantities and in practice there were already many who legally used it. The new legislation was launched precisely to try to regulate the behavior of the 4.5 million Germans who, it is estimated, use it every day.
