Soccer federation and police officials warned clubs Monday of increased security measures to handle fan violence, including the possibility of playing in empty stadiums.
"A situation like Italy can't be tolerated here," said Konrad Freiberg, the head of the national police union.
Hundreds of fans of FC Lokomotive Leipzig attacked 300 police officers after FC Erzgebirge Aue II beat their team 3-0 Saturday in the eastern state of Saxony. Police said 36 officers and six fans were injured, while 21 police vehicles were vandalized.
Federation and soccer officials from Saxony will meet Tuesday to consider canceling all matches in the state next weekend.
Federation president Theo Zwanziger said Germany could follow Italy's lead and order teams with violent fans to play in empty stadiums.
Germany has seen a surge in stadium violence since hosting the largely peaceful World Cup last year. Several of the worst incidents have been instigated by fans of teams from Saxony.
Zwanziger threatened a permanent stop to all soccer matches at stadiums in troubled areas of Saxony.
Continuing our ongoing series on why it seems to take the full force of an organized and prepared state to assure a safe soccer game, we offer the following insight for your consideration: In Europe, soccer hooliganism, like terrorism and riots, is seen as an inevitable release of ingrained social tensions that must be managed and minimized, but basically accepted at minimal levels. In North America, it is viewed as a crime that won’t be tolerated by the police, fans or teams for one minute. Everybody know that. Especially the hooligans.
3 comments:
Now let's see, shall I bash Europe or soccer today? No hang on, why choose when I can do both!
Ban soccer fans from soccer games and fill the stadia with fans of figure skating universally known for their decorum ... and people wonder why so few women are sports fans. Sheesh.
Those figure-skating hooligans are vicious.
I remember the old Torvill-and-Dean Headhunters from back in the day. Brutal firm, they were. Hard bastards.
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