SHARE
COPY LINK

FOOTBALL

Football tournament scrapped after fans riot

The second day of a football tournament in Hamburg was canceled after violent clashes Friday resulted in numerous injuries and the arrest of 74 fans, organizers announced.

Football tournament scrapped after fans riot
Photo: DPA

The tournament’s organizers wrote on their website that they couldn’t guarantee a safe environment and were thus canceling the Saturday event.

Both fans and the police were injured in the brawl, although precise numbers were unavailable.

The incident started around 7 p.m. when fans of VfB Lübeck and FC St. Pauli got involved in a huge confrontation that turned violent. There were some 200 police officers involved in trying to separate the two sides.

At first the football match continued, but in the second half, the clashes became so hefty that spectators began leaving the stadium and the match was halted. It took several hours to get the situation under control.

“We had a situation in which a large number of very aggressive FC St. Pauli fans continued to seek out confrontations throughout the entire stadium, including with the police,” Robert Golz, the match operations director told Sky Sport News. Police used clubs and tear gas to get the situation under control, he said, adding a number of people “not involved (with the rioting) were injured from pepper spray.”

An eye witness said, “It was at times very intense, how children and their parents didn’t know where they should go. We weren’t supposed to go either outside or upstairs and everywhere people were running. It was quite shocking.”

The Local/DPA/mw

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

RACISM

VIDEO: Spain’s La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

Spain's La Liga on Monday said it was reviewing a video of a child making racist insults towards Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior during the 2-2 draw with Valencia at the weekend.

VIDEO: Spain's La Liga reviews video of boy racially abusing Vinicius

“We’re in the process of studying and analysing the facts from a legal standpoint to see what we can and should do,” La Liga sources said.

In a video published by a journalist for ESPN Brasil, and picked up by Spanish media, a boy sitting in a woman’s lap can be heard calling Vinicius a “monkey”.

https://twitter.com/GravesenFumado/status/1764242481984491822

The Brazilian scored twice for Madrid as his team recovered from two goals down at Mestalla on Saturday.

Vinicius raised his fist in a “Black Power” salute after the first of his two goals at a ground where he was racially abused last season. Valencia subsequently banned three people from the stadium for life.

The 23-year-old has become a symbol of the fight against discrimination in Spanish football after suffering racist abuse on many occasions, and he was jeered repeatedly by home supporters on Saturday.

Jude Bellingham was sent off after the final whistle against Valencia for protesting after the referee blew the final whistle right before the England midfielder headed home what he thought was the winning goal.

READ ALSO: Football star Vinicius highlights racist behaviour from Spanish fans

SHOW COMMENTS