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File pic. EMPICS Sport
Tragedy

Man held after fan at football match dies in Sweden

The 28-year-old suspect presented himself to a police station late on Monday.

A MAN IN his twenties was arrested in the southern Swedish town of Helsingborg on Tuesday in connection with the weekend death of a football fan from head injuries, police said.

The 28-year-old suspect presented himself to a police station late on Monday, police spokesman Kenneth Andersson told AFP.

A 43-year-old fan was taken to hospital with severe head injuries received during fighting in Helsingborg town centre, 30 minutes before a league match between Stockholm team Djurgaarden and Helsingborg on Sunday.

He died in hospital soon after the game started.

During the match, Djurgaarden supporters began chanting “murderer, murderer” and invaded the pitch, causing the match to be cancelled.

The arrested man “takes certain responsibility for what has happened”, prosecutor Eleonora Johansson told a press conference on Tuesday.

He was known by the police and had been “mentioned in the investigation since Sunday”, she added.

The initial probe has focused on suspected manslaughter, but this could change depending on the results of the investigation, the prosecutor said.

The Swedish government recently proposed to bar known hooligans from football stadiums for up to three years and ban the use of face masks often worn by extremist supporter gangs.

It was the second death in Sweden in football hooligan-related violence — a supporter died during fighting in Stockholm city centre in 2002 during a game between Gothenburg and Stockholm team AIK.

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