BRAWLS ERUPTED BETWEEN Polish and Russian football fans Tuesday as thousands of Russians marched toward Warsaw’s national stadium hours before the countries face off in a key Euro 2012 match.
Police used water cannon and tear gas on unruly Euro 2012 fans in Warsaw on Tuesday as Poland geared up to play old foe Russia in a must-win Euro 2012 match.
Tension ahead of the match posing the city’s “greatest ever” security challenge was stoked by centuries of bad blood and suspicion between the two countries, and pockets of fans on both sides had a reputation for violence.
“We are ready to fight. We will win 3-1,” Moscow resident Iouri Kharlamov told AFP.
Police using water cannon sprayed unruly Polish fans near the stadium just hours ahead of the match, an AFP reporter saw. Tear gas was also used near the match venue encircled by a thick cordon of riot police.
AFP photographers also saw police detaining several fans in the area.
Riot police and vans created a buffer between Polish and Russian fans as they began marching to the National Stadium on Tuesday afternoon across a central Warsaw bridge chanting “Russia, Russia” and waving white, blue and red Russian flags.
Some Polish fans yelled verbal abuse at the Russian marchers, who responded by hurling back bottles, but security forces swiftly managed to keep the situation in check on what also happens to be the visitors’ national day.
Earlier, Polish Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki confirmed a heavier police presence in Warsaw, having previously described the security operation as the “greatest-ever challenge for law and order forces in the capital.”
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“Drunk fans both in the city centre and on the outskirts of Warsaw after the game — especially around midnight — that’s a real concern to us,” added Prime Minister Donald Tusk.
Tusk also hit back at claims of racism levelled at Poland, with a number of reported incidents, most notably taunts at members of the Dutch national team as they trained in Krakow.
In a separate incident, Russian fans are alleged to have taunted Ethiopian-Czech player Theodor Gebre Selassie, who is black.
“Let’s be honest, racist and anti-Semitic attitudes among Polish hooligans are a fact. But I strongly protest against stigmatising Poland as a country in which this phenomenon is growing,” he said.
Before the match, helicopters circled the sky above the capital, where some 6,000 police are on duty over the course of the tournament.
Poland’s Euro 2012 organisers said 9,800 Russian and 29,300 Polish fans had match tickets but they expected 12,000 Russian fans in the city for match day.
Officers in central Warsaw flagged down cars looking for banned items like weapons and flares and to check passengers’ identification. Fans were also stopped in the street, AFP reporters said.
But Russian fans who began pouring into the Polish capital earlier in the day had insisted the security issue was being blown out of proportion.
“We won’t be provoking anything,” said Svetoslaw Sorokine, 33, who travelled 48 hours by train from Yoshkar-Ola, a city 800 kilometres (500 miles) east of Moscow, for the match.
“Our supporters come in a spirit of peace to support our team, not to play politics,” he added.
Fellow fan Ilya Koulikov, a Moscow native, said fears of clashes among fans were being “fuelled by the media who are stoking the fire. People have come for the football.”
Polish media played up the tense history of the old foes, with the centre-left daily Gazeta Wyborcza resorting to military language.
“It won’t be a simple march across Warsaw, alas, but massive air raids against the Polish net,” the newspaper said. “Above all, we must survive this match.”
Football-mad Prime Minister Tusk joked that his “trembling heart” predicted a 4-0 victory for Poland but “reason and my football savvy tell me it’s going to a very tough match.”
Tusk will be hoping the scoreline is not a repeat of a friendly match between Poland and Russia fans, who a day earlier came together to lay wreaths in honour of people from both countries who were killed in World War II.
Wouldn’t fancy being in Warsaw tonight tbh. I hope the police have those attack dogs specially trained to go for the scrotum at the ready for when the game’s over.
Hold onto your hats and scarves, this one is going to be bad. Just after watching the poor steward being battered by 10+ Russian supporters on Youtube…
despicable behaviour.
some are some not, some of ours are some are not, i’d never confuse skinniness and peroxide, fake tan etc with good looks. take that insecurity away and your left with reality.
Wow Johnny Gobstock you sure LOVE to stereotype. One reason you SHOULD go to Poland is because it would instantly shatter many of your negative stereotypes.. but then again.. you probably love to make gross generalizations about groups of people so that would be counter productive to your happy ignorance, and you’ll avoid using your passport and brain at all costs. Ironically, as a Polish girl I know they type you’re referring to and I judge them too. But how can you judge an entire ethnic group or nation, and consider the rest exceptions?
told you, and is also one of the reasons why i’d never visit there. having experienced the bs here was enough, from been asked how much i earn (to compare leading to dislike from their side), tormenting my girlfriend and her friends on nights out to criticising our countries system and that goes for many eastern european fellow men i’ve encountered here.
its actually quite flattering and interesting to welcome the red thumbs down on a .ie site, .pl, .ru etc etc never really interested me give or take the odd illegal mp3 site. i hope its all improving your english ; )
That’s ridiculous. Maybe a reason not to go to football matches that, aside from thousands of moms, dads, and kids, contain hotheaded thugs looking for a fight . You think they are a sampling of the general population? That’s called stereotyping, and generally speaking, it’s pretty unfair and bigoted. Obviously the news is not reporting the 99% of the time things are calm, fun, and normal, because that would be boring footage. Are you surprised there are fights and bald headed losers looking for trouble after a football match? Is this distinctive to Eastern Europe? I mirror your aversion to the crap going down, but it’s a reason to avoid the game at best, and kind of racist at worst.
This is why football is gay and crap, too many dopes take it too seriously. I will say one thing at least the guys off the pitch can take a knock better than the actors on the pitch.
Is that it? Video 1. clearly shows that guy who got KO’D was the same guy who randomingly punched some other chap. And in Video 2. There’s a handful of idots fighting fan Ilya Koulikov, hit the nail on the head when he said fears of clashes among fans were being “fuelled by the media who are stoking the fire.
Look at the very start of the video. Lad on top left of screen asleep or passed out drunk. Don’t see why they attacked him. Knuckle dragging hooligans.
Is that it? Video 1. clearly shows that guy who got KO’D was the same guy who randomingly punched some other chap. And in Video 2. There’s a handful of idots fighting. Fan Ilya Koulikov, hit the nail on the head when he said fears of clashes among fans were being “fuelled by the media who are stoking the fire.
Nobody died. That article you linked to was full of crap. I won’t justify any violence, but the Russian fans unfolded a giant red USSR flag, not a Russian flag, which is illegal in Poland, just as the Nazi flag is. It’s an inflammatory, imperialist statement to make in the host country, so a lot of apparently sensitive toughguys got all up in arms. You’re asking for trouble, literally, if you’re going to do that. Really, I don’t care if the hooligans kill each other off so everyone else can have fun, and we can get some reporting that is representative of what is going on there.. Also the article mentioned racist abuse in Poznan. None of the teams even played or practiced in Poznan yet. The Dutch team experienced taunting of monkey chants from Polish idiot hooligan thugs among the people in t he stands during their practice. No one is denying that. Hooligans in Eastern Europe tend to be racist among other bad things.The other reports were from Spanish and Russian fans (it’s documented so everywhere else). But the article outright lied and said in all situations it was Polish fans. THis is all getting absurd. Every minute people are enjoying the games and making friends with people of opposing teams. There is just as much voluntary graffitt that says “welcome”. I think sweeping trouble under the rug is wrong, but the reporting is becoming a bit too one-sided and propanda-like.
Worst thing about all this is that England’s hooligan problem is really non existent now compared to Russia and racism is practically zero in football grounds yet Russia earn the right to host the 2018 world cup
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Wouldn’t fancy being in Warsaw tonight tbh. I hope the police have those attack dogs specially trained to go for the scrotum at the ready for when the game’s over.
Neanderthals
worse
Are they not playing Germany tomorrow?
Hold onto your hats and scarves, this one is going to be bad. Just after watching the poor steward being battered by 10+ Russian supporters on Youtube…
despicable behaviour.
If only they showed Home and Away in Poland or Russia, this all could’ve been avoided with a nice sing along.
Johnny at least their chicks are hot
some are some not, some of ours are some are not, i’d never confuse skinniness and peroxide, fake tan etc with good looks. take that insecurity away and your left with reality.
Wow Johnny Gobstock you sure LOVE to stereotype. One reason you SHOULD go to Poland is because it would instantly shatter many of your negative stereotypes.. but then again.. you probably love to make gross generalizations about groups of people so that would be counter productive to your happy ignorance, and you’ll avoid using your passport and brain at all costs. Ironically, as a Polish girl I know they type you’re referring to and I judge them too. But how can you judge an entire ethnic group or nation, and consider the rest exceptions?
told you, and is also one of the reasons why i’d never visit there. having experienced the bs here was enough, from been asked how much i earn (to compare leading to dislike from their side), tormenting my girlfriend and her friends on nights out to criticising our countries system and that goes for many eastern european fellow men i’ve encountered here.
I can well believe what you have experienced. Some seem to have a major chip on there shoulder. Like it’s them against the rest world
Get on well with them myself. Although i have to say i was probably over enthusiastic when i met the eastern european women myself.
its actually quite flattering and interesting to welcome the red thumbs down on a .ie site, .pl, .ru etc etc never really interested me give or take the odd illegal mp3 site. i hope its all improving your english ; )
That’s ridiculous. Maybe a reason not to go to football matches that, aside from thousands of moms, dads, and kids, contain hotheaded thugs looking for a fight . You think they are a sampling of the general population? That’s called stereotyping, and generally speaking, it’s pretty unfair and bigoted. Obviously the news is not reporting the 99% of the time things are calm, fun, and normal, because that would be boring footage. Are you surprised there are fights and bald headed losers looking for trouble after a football match? Is this distinctive to Eastern Europe? I mirror your aversion to the crap going down, but it’s a reason to avoid the game at best, and kind of racist at worst.
This is why football is gay and crap, too many dopes take it too seriously. I will say one thing at least the guys off the pitch can take a knock better than the actors on the pitch.
What a comment…..
Uneducated comment !
and there off
Is that it? Video 1. clearly shows that guy who got KO’D was the same guy who randomingly punched some other chap. And in Video 2. There’s a handful of idots fighting fan Ilya Koulikov, hit the nail on the head when he said fears of clashes among fans were being “fuelled by the media who are stoking the fire.
Nothing to do with football. These are mindless moronic fascist thugs
Look at the very start of the video. Lad on top left of screen asleep or passed out drunk. Don’t see why they attacked him. Knuckle dragging hooligans.
As predicted….buckle up, here we go…
Sounds like Parnell St on a Saturday night about 3 yrs ago
I love football, I love it..but I hate all the bullsh!t that goes with it.
What did they expect?
Is that it? Video 1. clearly shows that guy who got KO’D was the same guy who randomingly punched some other chap. And in Video 2. There’s a handful of idots fighting. Fan Ilya Koulikov, hit the nail on the head when he said fears of clashes among fans were being “fuelled by the media who are stoking the fire.
Report coming in that one fan is dead. This is when it gets to serious.
IT’S NOT A MUST WIN MATCH FOR POLAND
@DavidConnolly where did you hear that can’t find anything online?
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/351367/20120612/ruaaia-poland-violence-supporters-warsaw-euro-2012.html
Nobody died. That article you linked to was full of crap. I won’t justify any violence, but the Russian fans unfolded a giant red USSR flag, not a Russian flag, which is illegal in Poland, just as the Nazi flag is. It’s an inflammatory, imperialist statement to make in the host country, so a lot of apparently sensitive toughguys got all up in arms. You’re asking for trouble, literally, if you’re going to do that. Really, I don’t care if the hooligans kill each other off so everyone else can have fun, and we can get some reporting that is representative of what is going on there.. Also the article mentioned racist abuse in Poznan. None of the teams even played or practiced in Poznan yet. The Dutch team experienced taunting of monkey chants from Polish idiot hooligan thugs among the people in t he stands during their practice. No one is denying that. Hooligans in Eastern Europe tend to be racist among other bad things.The other reports were from Spanish and Russian fans (it’s documented so everywhere else). But the article outright lied and said in all situations it was Polish fans. THis is all getting absurd. Every minute people are enjoying the games and making friends with people of opposing teams. There is just as much voluntary graffitt that says “welcome”. I think sweeping trouble under the rug is wrong, but the reporting is becoming a bit too one-sided and propanda-like.
Worst thing about all this is that England’s hooligan problem is really non existent now compared to Russia and racism is practically zero in football grounds yet Russia earn the right to host the 2018 world cup
Them Russians are like bears
yeah that the only one i could find. wonder if its true, awful if so.