Season 12/13 - February

England : Appeal to trace suspects after football violence between Walsall and Shrewsbury fans - 05/02/2013

Source : http://www.expressandstar.com

Police have released images of eight men they want to speak to after trouble flared between rival Walsall and Shrewsbury fans.

Officers want to identify the men, who are believed to be from the Walsall and Wolverhampton areas, in connection with the disorder that broke out in Shrewsbury town centre ahead of the match last October.

A total of 15 men from across Shropshire and the West Midlands were arrested before, during and after the match, the majority for violent disorder.

A further 14 men were arrested during December and January as part of the investigation and now CCTV images of eight more people police believe may have witnessed the trouble have been released by the force.

Detective Chief Inspector Peter Davies, of West Mercia Police, said: “We are now appealing to these eight men from the West Midlands to get in touch, and also urging anyone else who can recognise them to contact us.

“We believe they were present in the area at the time and they may well have information which will help our investigation into the incident.

“It’s important we establish their identities as soon as possible as they may well have information which will assist us. I urge them to make contact.” During the policing operation for the match, three police officers were injured, two requiring hospital treatment. No other injuries were reported to members of the public.

The police commander at the time said that positive and visible policing around the town and at the football stadium in support of club stewards prevented large-scale disorder, enabling the vast majority of genuine fans to watch the game without interference.

The force said a number of people had been intent on causing trouble, some of it pre-planned, and officers had dealt with several potential flashpoints, preventing an escalation of disorder.

Mr Davies added: “Our inquiries into the trouble that occurred in the town centre will continue and we will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to trace the offenders”.

England : Latics fans attacked after watching match - 06/02/2013

Source : http://www.wigantoday.net

POLICE are urging Latics fans to help them identify Southampton supporters responsible for post-match violence which erupted on Saturday.

Following the game a number of away supporters approached the canal footbridge which connects the DW Stadium area to Miry Lane.

Eyewitnesses and police have described punches being thrown, while some Saints fans hurled bricks and other items at startled home supporters, many of whom were women and children. The area wasn’t patrolled by police at the time.

Officers have since reviewed CCTV footage and say the rogue fans can be seen approaching the area before throwing items towards the Wigan supporters.

To make matters worse, some of the Southampton contingent took to Twitter to brag about the incident. One appeared to boast about attacking two Wigan fans.

A genuine supporter of the south coast club was quick to condemn the actions of the minority, telling him he was ashamed of the group, only to be responded to with: “You are the only one calling me an embarrassment! Tell that to the other 50 people I went with!”

Latics fan Tom Smith, who was crossing the bridge, said: “Around 40 to 50 Southampton fans came. Some tried to get on the bridge and others walked under it along the canal.

“Then there was a bit of pushing and shoving as I got onto the bridge, next thing I know Southampton fans from ground level were throwing stuff at the bridge like coins, bottles and stones.

“Some were spitting too. It’s a joke really, there were no police around at all which surprised me really, there usually is.”

A Wigan Athletic spokesman said the club was aware of the incident and the reason for the lack of police presence near the bridge was that the risk of trouble was believed to be low.

He said: “Having reviewed Southampton fans in recent games, there was nothing to suggest any expectation of violence. There was also no trouble at recent Wigan Athletic games where the presence was also low.

“This unfortunate instance is rare. In total, there were 10 ejections from the ground.”

The incident, fortunately an isolated one for football in Wigan, was reported to the police who attended the footbridge.

A GMP spokesman said: “We were called to the scene and found 20 to 30 people throwing items.

“CCTV shows groups of opposing supporters throwing items towards innocent and genuine fans. No arrests were made and there were no injuries of massive concern.”

Hampshire police have also confirmed that they are looking into the situation.

Information, including comments made on social networking sites, have been passed onto them as evidence to assist them with their inquiries.

They have also spoken to various Wigan fans who were present at the time of the incident and have urged any more to come forward with any information.

A Hampshire police spokesman said: “We are reviewing the evidence sent to us by Greater Manchester Police and Hampshire officers have been in touch with aggrieved parties from Wigan.

“We would advise anyone who was a victim and who has not contacted the police to contact GMP as soon as possible.”

Basket : MZT Skopje (Macedonia) - Union Olympia (Slovenia) - 03/02/2013

Source : http://www.mkd.mk

At the end of the game riots broke out in the stands opposing policemen to Skoje supporters who tried to attacked their own last player, Eftim Bogoev.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Three further arrests made in Italian investigation into Lazio Ultras' attack on Spurs fans - 06/03/2013

Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Three more men have been arrested as a result of a police investigation into a late-night attack on Tottenham fans in the centre of Rome in November.

A gang of armed, masked men attacked a group of fans in the Drunken Ship pub on the Campo de' Fiori on November 22, the night before the London outfit played Serie A club Lazio in the Europa League group stage.

Seven Tottenham supporters were injured, with 25-year-old Ashley Mills receiving hospital treatment for both a potentially life-threatening stab wound to his groin and a serious head wound.

Police were quick to use video camera evidence and witness reports to arrest Mauro Pinnelli, 27, and Francesco Ianari, 26, who are both hardcore fans - or Ultras - associated with Lazio's city rivals Roma. The pair remain in custody in Rome awaiting trial.

Roman police arrested three more men, Fulvio Marra, 24, Tony Vratuli, 36, and Nicolae Rotariu, 33, on Wednesday as a result of further extensive gathering of evidence.

Presiding judge Antonella Capri issued an order to remand the trio in custody.

Ireland - Poland - 07/02/2013

Source : http://www.thejournal.ie

Five Polish fans arrested at Dublin Airport

FIVE MEN ARE due to appear before the Criminal Courts of Justice this morning charged in relation to a public order incident at Dublin Airport yesterday.

Gardaí said the five men were arrested at the airport following the incident which occurred at around 6.30pm. A spokesperson for Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) told TheJournal.ie that the incident was “not significant, was dealt with quickly and involved a number of Polish football fans”.

It is understood that the men, who were in two groups of rival football fans, were denied boarding on a number of flights to Britain and a fight broke out. Gardaí were called to the scene and the arrests were made.

The DAA said there was no disruption to any of the flights.

Arson attack on offices of Israeli football team after fans charged for anti-Muslim slur - 08/02/2013

Source : http://www.foxnews.com

The offices of the Beitar Jerusalem soccer team were set on fire early Friday in an apparent arson attack, police said, a day after four of the club's fans were charged with anti-Muslim chanting at a recent game.

The attack also followed an announcement by police that it would begin deploying undercover units and beefing up police presence at games to track down those fans involved in racist chants.

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said Friday's attack left extensive damage to the team's administrative offices next to its training field. The office walls were charred, and team trophies and soccer cleats were scattered about. No one was hurt in the attack, and the police were searching for suspects.

Rosenfeld pledged the police would use "every legal means in order to prevent the continual racism, which is basically destroying the club."

In a statement to reporters, Jerusalem mayor Nir Barkat said those responsible for the attack were "not fans but criminals."

Beitar Jerusalem is known to have fans hostile to Muslims and Arabs and in the past fans have been punished on occasion for chanting anti-Muslim slurs at games.

Tensions have been bubbling ever since the team announced last month it would sign on two Muslim Chechen players — Zaur Sadayev and Gabriel Kadiev — in a break from the team's unofficial tradition of not signing Arabs or Muslims.

At a league game in January, spectators protesting the decision unfurled large banners with anti-Muslim undertones, drawing harsh rebuke from Israel's president, Jerusalem's mayor and other officials. On Thursday, four fans were indicted for the behavior.

Last week, hundreds of police patrolled a game between Beitar Jerusalem and a team from the Arab town of Umm al-Fahm. No major incidents were reported, and 12 fans from both sides were banned from the game.

Police are planning heavy deployment next week when Beitar plays another team from an Arab town.

Later Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the fans' behavior and opposition to the Chechen players.

"This behavior is shameful," Netanyahu said in a statement to reporters. "We cannot accept such racist behavior. The Jewish people, who suffered excommunications and expulsions, need to represent a light unto the nations."

Belgium - Slovakia - Played in Bruges - 07/02/2013

Source : mail (thanks to the sender)

BCS mob (Anderlecht) and some Boys (Charleroi) waiting for Bruges mob.

Brazil: CRB Maceio - Santa Cruz Recife - 06/02/2013

Source : brazilian websites + https://www.youtube.com

The Netherlands: free fight - 08/02/2013

Source : forums - Dordrecht view

Fair fight 20 vs 20 opposing mobs from Roda and Dordrecht.
Roda well organized and honest.
Roda took the advantage.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Israelis shocked by racist football chants bringing shame to a once proud team - 10/02/2013

Source : http://www.guardian.co.uk

Arsonists torched the offices of Beitar, the Jerusalem club whose recent signing of two Chechen Muslims has provoked an uproar

The blackened remnants of prized football trophies stood on a shelf in the torched office. On the desk a jar of sweets, still wrapped in gold foil, had melted into a sticky clump. Charred team photographs were scattered over the floor amid singed football shirts.

Memorabilia from Beitar Jerusalem football club's 77-year history had been housed in the office. "It's all gone, all our history is gone," said one of the staff sweeping scorched detritus into plastic sacks, pausing to draw on a cigarette and shaking his head in dismay.

A blaze at 5am on Friday at Beitar's premises was probably ignited by burning material pushed through a high window facing outside the grounds. Police said evidence suggested it had been a deliberate arson attack. "We're looking into possible connections with recent decisions by the management," said spokesman Micky Rosenfeld.

He was referring to the signing last month of two Chechen players, a move that has plunged Beitar into a national and international furore and triggered widespread calls to rein in the virulent racism of a hard core of fans. The problem for these Beitar supporters is not that the new players are Chechens; it is that they are Muslim.

Beitar, the only Israeli club to have never signed a player from the 20% of the country's population that is Arab, has a long history of racism among its supporters, with a favourite chant being "Death to Arabs". Before the arrival of Gabriel Kadiev and Zaur Sadayev, fans held aloft a banner at a match reading: "Beitar forever pure."

Since joining the club, the two players have been verbally abused and spat at. They have been forced to travel to and from training under police and private security guard protection. A Beitar supporter – one of four later arrested and charged – turned up at the training ground wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the words "Mohammed is 100% dead".

Beitar's owner, Arcadia Gaydamak, refused to bow to the fans' pressure. "As far as I'm concerned, there is no difference between a Jewish player and a Muslim player," he said. His stance, however, was weakened by coach Eli Cohen who drew a distinction between European and Arab Muslims, saying: "The fans here have a problem with Arabs living in the Middle East."

Condemnation of the hardcore fans' behaviour has been swift and harsh. Prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu said Friday's apparent arson attack was "shameful", adding: "The Jewish people, [who have] suffered boycotts and persecution, should be a light unto other nations."

Beitar's manager, Itzhik Kornfein, told Israel Radio on Friday: "This has gone beyond sports and this has ramifications for Israeli society and for how we look to the world."

Earlier, President Shimon Peres said the entire country was shocked, and former prime minister Ehud Olmert, a Beitar fan for more than 40 years, said that he would no longer attend matches because of fans' behaviour. "Ultimately, this is a matter that concerns all of us. Either we remove this group of racists from our field and cut it off from the team, or we are all like them. Until that happens, I will not go to games," he wrote.

Israel's attorney general, Yehuda Weinstein, said police would take action against any "manifestation of [racism] that crosses the line into a criminal act". The Israeli Football Association imposed a 50,000 shekels (£8,595) fine on the club for the racist slogans of its fans and ordered the closure of the eastern stand of its stadium, where hardcore fans congregate, for five matches. Some commentators have decried these punitive actions as inadequate.

Now attention is focused on Beitar's match this evening against Bnei Sakhnin, the only top division team from an Israeli-Arab town and regarded with sporting pride by Israel's Arab minority. There is a history of animosity towards Bnei Sakhnin among Beitar fans; its players are regularly taunted as "terrorists".

Ahmed Tibi, an Israeli-Arab member of parliament, said he would attend the match under police guard. "Every time I go to a Beitar match, they shout at me 'Ahmed Tibi is a terrorist' and other offensive things." He described Beitar as "the most racist club in the world. No other club bans players on ethnic grounds." Bnei Sakhnin, he said, promoted coexistence in sport, with a handful of Jewish players. "Jews and Arabs are playing together. It is the total opposite of Beitar."

Amid heightened tension, Jerusalem police say there will be a heavy security presence before, during and after the match, including undercover units, mounted police and crowd-control specialists. They will be particularly anxious to avoid a repeat of a violent rampage last March by several hundred Beitar fans at a shopping mall close to the city's Teddy stadium, in which Palestinian staff and customers were abused and assaulted. No one was arrested.

That was blamed on a nucleus of extremist Beitar fans, known as La Familia. The group, created in 2005, routinely make monkey noises at black players and chant anti-Islamic and anti-Arab slogans at games. They reportedly booed during a minute of silence for the assassinated prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and have been accused of assaulting Palestinian maintenance staff at the club's grounds. They have also verbally abused Kornfein, Beitar's manager, for speaking out against racism in football.

A day or so before the Chechen players' arrival, one of their number told an Israeli paper: "I'm a racist. I hate Arabs … If they bring in Muslims, the fans will burn down the club. That can't happen. Arabs and Beitar Jerusalem don't mix."

At Beitar's grounds, hours after the office was torched, club supporter Yaniv Pesso, 43, denounced La Familia. "They are stupid. They are a very small number, like a little mafia, but they have a big voice." Sport, politics and religion should not be mixed up, he said. "I don't like Muslims, but sport is sport."

Beitar, however, is not just about sport. In Israel, football clubs have always been associated with political parties or movements, and Beitar's alignment is with the nationalist right. Its name is shared with a Zionist youth movement linked in the 1940s to Herut, a rightwing party founded by Menachem Begin, which later merged into today's ruling Likud party, led by Netanyahu.

Its fans are predominantly Mizrahi Jews, who came to Israel from other countries in the Middle East and north Africa, and who have always felt excluded from and shunned by the Ashkenazi – or eastern European – elite. Mizrahi Jews make up about 40% of Israel's 8 million population.

In contrast to Beitar, for example, Hapoel Tel Aviv, a club based in Israel's most liberal city, is still associated with the historic workers' movement and today's political left – and Ashkenazi Jews.

In the mid-1970s, Beitar won its first national championship and Likud became Israel's ruling party for the first time, with Begin becoming prime minister. Rightwing nationalism, both on the terraces and in parliament, was ascendant.

According to Avraham Burg, a former speaker of the Israeli parliament, the club should be viewed from three perspectives. "The small picture is that every football club has a group of very extreme fans who are fanatical about the spirit of the club. The spirit of Beitar is interpreted by this group as ethnic, religious, racist, xenophobic, Islamophobic.

"The mid-sized picture is that of Jerusalem. These days it is a narrow-minded, limited, self-confined city, where the two communities [Jewish and Arab] are separated.

"The big picture means asking if this is a symbol of a larger problem in Israel. The answer is definitely yes. It's a combination of racism and xenophobia, but a racism that is connected to religious extremism."

But Tamar Herman of the Israeli Democracy Institute said the racism of Beitar's fans was not representative or typical of Israeli society. "Football clubs develop a certain subculture that does not necessarily reflect the entire society around them," she said.

Anti-Arab feeling in Israel, she added, was different from European Islamophobia. "It's based on a conflict of interests. It's not because they are Arab or Muslim, but because of a constant struggle over ownership of the land. In Europe, Islamophobia is not based on a political, historical and military conflict."

Back at Beitar's grounds, where the club's junior team was practising penalty shots in the afternoon sun, manager Barbara Barashi said she was ashamed by the apparent arson attack. "I don't want people to think we're all like that. I teach the boys that everyone is equal."

Israel : Police on high alert for Betar vs Sakhnin - 10/02/2013

Source : http://www.jpost.com

Some 400 policemen stood guard at Teddy Stadium to keep the peace at Betar Jerusalem’s potentially volatile showdown.

Over 400 policemen as well as some 200 security guards were at Teddy Stadium on Sunday night to keep the peace at Betar Jerusalem’s potentially volatile showdown with Bnei Sakhnin.

The extreme measures are being taken following Betar’s recent struggle against a racist group of its fans, numbering several hundreds, who have been protesting against the signings of Chechen Muslims Dzhabrail Kadiyev and Zaur Sadayev.

On Friday, a fire caused heavy damages to Betar management offices in what according to police was an arson attack by those opposed to the team’s decision to sign two Muslim players.

The off-field distractions have taken their toll on Betar, with the team losing the two matches it has played since owner Arkadi Gaydamak announced the arrival of Kadiyev and Sadayev.

Eintracht Frankfurt - 1.FC Nürnberg - 09/02/2013

Source : www.hr-online.de

Skirmishes broke out, opposing police to Nurnberg supporters in front of the Frankfurt stadium.
About ten policemen and several supporters were woudned.
More than 600 Nurnberg supporters wanted to enter the stadium with flags and banners, which was forbidden by police so skirmishes started, opposing 200 of them to police who responded with pepper sprays and batons.
Two police vehicles were damaged.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

1.FC Kaiserslautern - Dynamo Dresden - 08/02/2013

Source : http://www.flashfoot.fr + presse locale

Dresden supporters caused troubles



Dresden hooligans caused damages to busses and safety vehicles in Kaiserslautern and frontd police.
At least two people were wounded.
Damages were caused for a total amount of 70.000 €.
Inside the stadium police tried to control them when they tried to attack locals.

Bus crash kills 16 football fans in Chile - 09/02/2013

Source : http://www.santacruzsentinel.com

A bus carrying fans of a Chilean soccer team has plunged into a ravine, killing 16 people.
Fire department officials say most of those who died in Saturday's crash are 13 to 18 years old. One is an infant a few months old. Twenty-one people are reported injured.

Officials say the bus plunged roughly 500 feet (150 meters) into a ravine in a mountainous zone about 280 miles (470 kilometers) south of the capital.

The bus was carrying fans of the O'Higgins team back from a match the squad won against Huachipato de Talcahuan.

State television says the Chinese-made bus had no seatbelts for its 27 intended passengers and was intended only for urban use.

Hungary: Zalaergerszeg - Videoton - Cup - 09/02/2013

Source : forums

Before the game, local supporters tried to attacked Videoton rivals at the train station but policemen were present.
Troubles also broke out inside the stadium.

Mexico: Cruz Azul - UNAM Pumas - 09/02/2013

Source : http://www.24-horas.mx

SUPPORTERS FROM PUMAS AND CRUZ AZUL EXCHANGED PUNCHES

Supporters from football teams from Pumas and Cruz Azul have exchanged punches outside the tube stations of Apatlaco, Alalilco and San Lazaro.
At least six people were wounded.

Police said these troubles broke out as supporters were on the road to the stadium.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Deportivo La Coruna - Granada CF - 09/02/2013

Source : Marca

Due to the large defeat (03) of their players, La Coruna supporters sung against trainer during the game.

At the end of the game, outside the stadium, they also sung "Less Portuguese, more Coruneses" and thrown bottles so police charged at them.

Real Oviedo CF - UD Salamanca - 10/02/2013

Source : forums

FIRST INFORMATIONS:

Troubles broke out in Oviedo and 26 Salamanca ultras were arrested.

Oxford United - Bristol Rovers - 09/02/2013

Source : http://www.oxfordmail.co.uk

Three arrests at Oxford United-Bristol Rovers game

THREE people were arrested at yesterday's highly-charged match between Oxford United and Bristol Rovers.

There was a heavy police presence at both the Kassam Stadium and Oxford train station for the visit of Bristol Rovers for the League Two clash.

Police said their operation was successful, although there were several incidents between rival fans in the area immediately surrounding the Kassam just before kick-off.

Police said one man from Bristol and two men from Oxford were arrested. However they have supplied no details on what grounds or if the men were subsequently charged with any offences.

The police presence included several officers on horseback and at the end of the game there were massed ranks of officers at either end of the north stand, where away fans were, to prevent clashes.

Estimates on the number of Rovers fans vary between 1,400 and 2,000.

Superintendent Christian Bunt, the Oxford police commander who was leading the policing operation, said last night: “Today’s football match involved a substantial policing operation to ensure it ran smoothly and safely.

“It is a shame that a few people today thought it would be ok to attend and try to disrupt the enjoyment of others. We will now be carrying out a post-match investigation to establish the full circumstances.

“We have been working closely with the club staff, to plan for today and deal with any potential troublemakers so that it was a safe environment for everybody to support their teams and enjoy the match.”

Greece (basket) : Olympiakos - Panathinaikos - 10/02/2013

Source : http://www.theprovince.com

Greek basketball cup final suspended after fan violence

The Greek basketball cup final between fierce rivals Olympiakos and Panathinaikos has been suspended because of fan violence Sunday. Riot police intervened, at one point using stun grenades.

The mayhem came with seven minutes left in the second quarter and Panathinaikos leading 26-17. After an incident between two players, Olympiakos fans threw a large stone that injured the hand of Panathinaikos' Greek-American guard Mike Bramos. Panathinaikos fans reacted, prompting riot police to act.

Authorities had allowed only 900 fans from each team to attend the game in the 7,000-seat arena. They were placed on opposite sides and separated by hundreds of riot police.

Authorities say the final will resume once the stands are evacuated.

Coventry City - Crewe Alexandra - 04/02/2013

Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Here's ANOTHER idiotic pitch invader... and Coventry star's reward for trying to stop him with a kick is a BOOKING

Coventry's Cyrus Christie was booked for trying to trip up a pitch invader who entered the field at the Ricoh Arena.

The bare-chested idiot ran on and was given a swift kick by right back Christie, who was then cautioned by referee Graham Salisbury.

The invader then turned to confront the defender but was bundled away by four Coventry players before being removed from the playing area by stewards.

A 17-year-old youth was detained by police for football encroachment and has been summoned to court, with a football ban likely. Police have received no complaints from any of the players.

Angry Coventry boss Mark Robins said: 'I just don’t understand the logic of booking Cyrus. He stopped him and there was nothing in it. It was so the stewards could move him.'

While Christie's booking may seem unfair, the FA can only rescind red cards so no further action will be taken on their part. It was only the defender's third yellow card of the season so it will not result in any ban.

In March 2011 the governing body did step in to halt an automatic three-game suspension issued to Dorchester Town's player-manager Ashley Vickers, who tackled an invader wearing a mankini.

Even though the red card stood, the FA withdrew the subsequent ban, citing 'expectional circumstances'.

West Midlands Police confirmed an individual was arrested after being escorted from the pitch and are currently investigating whether charges will be brought.

Christie did not mention the booking after the game, tweeting: 'The scoreline definetley didn't reflect the performance the fans were great again was a great atmosphere bounce back Saturday now'.

The incident followed another on Monday night which saw Wycombe Wanderers goalkeeper Jordan Archer attacked by a Gillingham supporter.

There have also been instances of supporters entering the field at Sheffield Wednesday, where home keeper Chris Kirkland was assaulted by a Leeds fan, and at the Etihad Stadium, where a Manchester City follower tried to get to Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand.

England : Leyton Orient - Southend United - 05/02/2013

Source : http://www.dailymail.co.uk

In the southern Johnstone's Paint Trophy area final, Leyton Orient suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at home against Southend.

During the game it appears Southend fans destroyed a seating area at Brisbane Road.

Israel : Beitar Jerusalem - Ihoud Bnei Sakhnin - 10/02/2013

Source : http://www.israelnationalnews.com

9 Sakhnin Fans, 6 Beitar Fans Arrested at Start of Game

Police arrested 15 fans for racist chants at the start of Sunday evening's soccer match at Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem, between Beitar Jerusalem and Bani Sakhnin. Nine of those arrested were from the Arab city in the western Galilee while the other six were supporters of the home team.

Attention has been focused on Beitar because of the vocal opposition of some hardcore fans to the introduction of two Chechen Muslims to the team's roster. On Friday, the offices of the team were hit by an apparent arsonist.

***********************************

Source : http://www.globalpost.com

Police ejected 45 football fans from Jerusalem match

Israeli police deployed outside Jerusalem's Teddy stadium to contain possible racist protests by football supporters on a visit by an Arab team ejected 45 people from the premises, a spokeswoman said.

Teddy stadium's Beitar Jerusalem football club was hosting a match against the Arab Israeli team Benei Sakhnin.

The match drew 2-2 without any major incident, but police forced 25 fans of Beitar and 20 from Sakhnin to leave, the police spokeswoman said.

She added that a number of fans from each side had been arrested before the game for having a "provocative attitude."

Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld told AFP before the match started: "We put 600 to 700 uniformed and plain clothes policemen in place to avoid any disorder and restrain any racist protest."

A fortnight ago, security was deployed for a match between Beitar and another Arab team, which ended without incident.

Sakhnin supporters arriving on buses for Sunday's match were to be given police escort to Jerusalem, Rosenfeld said.

Interior Security Minister Yitzhak Aharonovitch told military radio that racism "must be dealt with at the root. We have a policy of zero tolerance against these kinds of criminals."

His comments came after Beitar's offices were torched on Friday, after it signed up two Chechnyan Muslim players.

The attack took place hours after prosecutors on Thursday filed charges against four Beitar supporters accused of racist chants aimed at the Muslim players during a match and at a training session.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that in light of the Jewish people's historic suffering at the hands of racists, such behaviour by Israelis was "shameful."

Beitar Jerusalem have a reputation of attracting a hard core of anti-Arab fans, with many of its supporters adamant the club should never sign an Arab player, even though Muslim footballers have played for Beitar in the past.

Hooligan violence mars German football matches - 11/02/2013

Source : http://www.thelocal.de

Rioting football hooligans have again dragged violence in Germany's Bundesliga back into the spotlight after three separate incidents in the country's top two leagues over the weekend.

The worst case was at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday when around 1,000 away supporters from Nuremberg clashed with police, leaving 19 officers and two stewards with minor injuries. A police car was pelted with stones outside Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena and a fence around the stadium was destroyed.

A police spokesman said "only through the use of batons and pepper spray" could they control the situation.

"Outbreaks of violence are unacceptable. We hope that the perpetrators can be identified by the police investigation," Frankfurt club manager Martin Bader told German television channel Sport1.

The Eintracht-Nuremberg game in Frankfurt had been classified as a potential problem match, with hundreds of extra police officers deployed, and security checks stepped up to search some away fans for flares and fireworks.

Nuremberg fans responded with an organised boycott of the away section of the Frankfurt stadium.

In a separate incident over 200km away in the Ruhr Valley, two train stations were set on fire, a witness was attacked and damage valued at €10,000 was done to a railway carriage by Hamburg fans on Saturday.

A group of travelling fans went on the rampage en route to their team's 4-1 win at German champions Borussia Dortmund, attempting to set a railway carriage on fire and vandalising it in the process, while police officers were injured.

Police say charges, ranging from breach of the peace, assault, criminal damage and violations of the Explosives Act after flares and fireworks were lit on a train, are being pressed against 12 individuals.

The German Football Association (DFB) are set to investigate and have already said they are already looking into second-division Dynamo Dresden after fans rioted before and during Friday's 3-0 defeat at Kaiserslautern, south-west Germany.

Dynamo fans clashed with police before the game, with €70,000 worth of damage done in the city centre. The hooligans then lit flares in the stadium and tried to storm out of the away block and into the home fans, forcing police intervention.

"These blokes are ruining football and the reputation of our club," Dynamo manager Christian Müller, whose club's fans have a history of violence, told news agency SID.

"We will collaboration with the Kaiserslautern police to identify the perpetrators and punish with the utmost severity. As a manager, I am ashamed of the presence of some people in the visitors section."

Violence at football stadiums has been in the spotlight here since the 34 clubs in the top two tiers of the Bundesliga voted last December to accept the German Football League's 'Secure Stadium Experience' paper.

Under the scheme, clubs can insist fans suspected of carrying flares, dangerous weapons or banners with offensive slogans into stadiums be strip searched, which is proving controversial with the majority of fans.

Hardcore fans - known as 'Ultras' - are repeatedly lighting flares in stadiums here across the country to taunt authorities.

Frankfurt fans forced a Bundesliga game at Bayer Leverkusen to be briefly delayed last month when fireworks and flares, lit by Eintracht fans in the away block, started landing on the pitch near players.

Iraklis Saloniki - Olympiakos Volos - 06/02/2013

Source : http://www.sportena.com

At the end of the game, Iraklis supporters, angry about the defeat, fronted police during 45 minutes, throwing missiles at them.
One policeman was wounded.
Following these troubles, one member of Gate 10 was jailed to 46 months.

Translation Underground Fans (c)