Poland’s president has approved legislation stepping up security and banning most alcoholic beverages from mass events ahead of the 2012 European football championship next summer, his office announced yesterday.

The regulations signed by President Bronislaw Komorowski earlier this week significantly extend prison terms and raise fines for breaches of law during large-scale gatherings and represent a tightening of existing security measures. They come as the country tries to send a message that it will not tolerate the kind of violence that has plagued football matches in Poland in recent years.

The new law states that beverages sold in and around the stadiums during the Euro 2012 matches can contain no more than 3.5 per cent of alcohol. Most beers in Poland have an alcohol level of 4 percent or more.

The spokesman for Polish organizers of the tournament, Juliusz Gluski, said that UEFA is not planning for any alcohol to be sold in and around stadiums during matches.

The new legislation also bans hard packaging made of glass, metal or hard plastic in stadiums as a precaution against them being used as weapons. Knives and other sharp objects are forbidden, and spectators will not be allowed to cover their faces in the stadiums.