Season 21/22 - February

Latest Suspect Arrested for Thessaloniki Murder to Testify Before Magistrate on Friday - 09/02/2022

Source : https://www.thenationalherald.com/

The 25-year-old arrested for involvement in the murder of a 19-year-old youth by football hooligans in Thessaloniki’s Harilaou district has been given until Friday to prepare his testimony to the 7th Thessaloniki examining magistrate, who is handling the case.

The 25-year-old suspect was taken into custody after he turned himself in voluntarily on Tuesday, after a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Two of those arrested for suspected involvement in the murder and the injury of two others were led before the examining magistrate to testify at noon on Wednesday. They were both allegedly in the car driven by a 23-year-old whom authorities first placed at the scene, who has already been remanded in custody until trial.

The remaining six suspects are scheduled to testify over the next two days.

Meanwhile, the Thessaloniki Appeals Court Prosecutors Office has issued an international arrest warrant for a 20-year-old suspect of Albanian descent who is the only person wanted for the incident who remains at large after reportedly fleeing the country.

Tottenham Hotspur - Southampton FC - 09/02/2022

Source : mail

Saints lads

Yverdon Sport FC - Lausanne Sport - Swiss Cup - 08/02/2022

Source : Le Matin

Huge fight between supporters from Yverdon and LS

At the end of the Vaudois derby on the Swiss Cup program on Tuesday, fans from both sides found themselves outside the stadium: one arrest and damages to urban equipment..

The Swiss Cup quarter-final match between Yverdon and Lausanne-Sport (1-0) did not stop after 94 minutes of play on Tuesday evening. On the pitch, the Yverdonnois celebrated with their fans. These scenes of joy were not to everyone's taste.

The ultras of LS, extremely upset following this defeat, also tried to enter the lawn of the Municipal Stadium of Yverdon. They were quickly countered by the security service. After several minutes of discussion with the captain and goalkeeper of their team, Mory Diaw, they returned to the parking lot reserved for visiting supporters.

Ibe arrest outside the stadium

The sequel took place outside the stadium, when fans from both sides met and faced off, as Blick reported. The fight took place next to the ice rink, on the other side of the canal.
The riot police had to intervene to separate the ultras. But before that the blows rained and, on a video, we see a man being beaten while he was on the ground.

The Vaud cantonal police told Blick that no injuries were reported to the police and that one person had been arrested after a fight. Damage to street furniture was also observed in the city of Yverdon.

GREEK HOOLIGANISM: Details of Alkis Kabanou’s murder, photos of the accused - 08/02/2022

Source : https://greekcitytimes.com/



Photo documents from the arrested and the place where Alkis Kabanou was tragically murdered by football hooligans, as shown in the case file, are presented by Proto Thema.

The scene of the death unfolds minute by minute through the case file, with those arrested blaming each other trying to shake off the responsibility for the murder of Alkis and the attempted murder of his two friends.

Alexis Kougias, lawyer of Alkis’ family, is expected to initiate all proceedings in order to fully clarify the case.

The 19-year-old student and Aris fan was murdered last week in an incident involving hooligans from rival club PAOK.

At least one of the accused is a member of the Palaion Patron Germanou Street PAOK fan club and has a history of violence-related offences, including charges of assault with a bladed weapon in 2019 near the scene of the recent murder.

Vice-Prosecutor of Areios Pagos, Greece’s supreme court, Zacharias Kokkinakis, sent a notification to the country’s court of first instance prosecutors on Friday, urging for their vigilance in the prevention and drastic tackling of crimes deriving from sports violence.

Testimonies from the accused started today and will continue until Friday in Thessaloniki.

The people involved are being prosecuted, among other things, for the crime of joint homicide with deceit – committed and attempted.

Details of the attack reveals a 21-year-old Greek as the main culprit for the murder and a 23-year-old Albanian as the “brain” of the attack.

The 23-year-old Albanian now admitted, after initially denying, that he was present at the murder, but pointed out the 21-year-old Greek, identified as G.K., as the perpetrator of the murder.

The 23-year-old Albanian testified that “after a while we all returned to Paleon Patron Germanou. The other people who were riding in the other two cars also arrived there, including G.K., who in front of all of us said: ‘I did a [expletive]… I forgot the scythe there’.”

In the same testimony, the 23-year-old Albanian described himself and his co-accused as “victims of fanaticism.”

Regarding the tragic loss of life, he said: “I never thought that such an incident would cause the fatal consequences that ultimately happened.”

“Both I and the people who were riding in my car, did not carry weapons, knives or any other weapon which could lead to fatal injury,” he added.

At the same time, according to ERT, the 23-year-old Albanian was allegedly named by the other accused as the one who was guiding the younger hooligans, in addion to having the general command of the attack against Alkis and his friends.

According to the report, the attack took place following an idea initially expressed by the 23-year-old himself.

Some of the other defendants claim that the attack was preceded by a fan incident in Oreokastro, which prompted the “inspiration” of the attack in Charilaou against Alkis and his friends.

Green Brigade Celtic Glasgow - 09/02/2022

Source : Daily Record

6 Celtic clashes with the Green Brigade as standing section slammed shut after latest row
The club and the vocal Parkhead standing section have often been at odds over the years.

Celtic have told the Green Brigade they will not be able to attend this weekend's cup tie with Raith Rovers as normal after last week's Old Firm fireworks.

The Parkhead safe-standing section brought the noise and the colour to last Wednesday's derby as they helped roar the team on to a rampant 3-0 win.

But concerns are growing about police intervention after flares and pyro were let off during the game.

As Record Sport first revealed, the club are to close the standing section for this weekend after instructions from the authorities to prevent a repeat performance.

But it's only the latest in a long line of bans, closures and official warnings dished out by the club to the vocal Green Brigade - the ultras who bring the noise on matchday.

We give you a brief history of Celtic and the Green Brigade.

April 2011
Signs of tension between Celtic and the supporters' group began to arise during the 2010/11 season.

An incident at Hampden where a fan was ejected for letting off a flare was met by a mass walkout by Green Brigade members. Later that month, around 100 members were not sent season-ticket renewal forms.
That was followed by a later club statement which urged fans to comply with authorities at Parkhead.

It read: "Whilst it is widely accepted that the Green Brigade has shown that their members can bring a good atmosphere to the stadium and have demonstrated their ability to positively support the team, the behaviour of fans within the stadium must comply with the General Safety Certificate granted by Glasgow City Council.

"A number of safety concerns have been raised by Glasgow City Council Safety Team for Sports Grounds regarding spectator behaviour in the section of the ground occupied by the ‘Green Brigade’.

"These relate to issues such as overcrowding, persistent standing and, in particular, the lateral movement of spectators.

"We are in regular dialogue with the Green Brigade, the group understand the issues and are presently dealing with the matter."

December 2011
Manager Neil Lennon was then left furious at the Green Brigade after they displayed a banner reading "F*** UEFA" during a Europa League tie at Udinese.

An apoplectic Lennon, in only his second season in charge, questioned whether those responsible were "even Celtic fans" and asked the "real supporters" to step forward and put an end to it.

He said at the time: "I can’t understand what they are thinking. Are they even Celtic fans? I’d be dubious about calling them that.

“The club has worked very hard to build a reputation in Europe, but now we have a few people who are trying to undermine all that.

“These people are embarrassing me and my backroom staff. They are embarrassing the board, they are embarrassing the club, they are embarrassing 99 per cent of the support. But most importantly of all they are embarrassing the players.

“Our real fans will come forward and try to put an end to this."

December 2013
Another banner was met by Lennon's fury when Celtic welcomed Milan to Parkhead for a Europa League tie.

It featured William Wallace and Bobby Sands, with "the terrorist or the dreamer? The savage or the brave?"

No more than two weeks later, after the Green Brigade took the brunt of the blame for £10k worth of damage to Motherwell's stadium, 128 were hit with "precautionary bans" while a further 250 were moved from section 111 for the remainder of the season.

And Lennon backed the move as he said: "It’s very disappointing because the Green Brigade have added something spectacular at times to the stadium in terms of atmosphere.

"But in the last two or three years, you’ve felt a change in the atmosphere at times. It was something I’ve not experienced before in my time here.

"There have been repeated warnings and the club was put in a corner and had to react. It has done swiftly."

July 2017
By 2017 it was Brendan Rodgers who had the Green Brigade in his crosshairs after paramilitary-style banners were shown in a Europa League tie with Linfield.

12 arrests were made and Celtic were hit with a fine of more than £20,000, resulting in the Green Brigade initially being banned for home games against Rosenborg and Hearts in July and August.

Rodgers said at the time: "I was saddened by what I saw. I want to defend the guys at some time. The guys in the corner add the energy and youthfulness which is absolutely amazing.

"But the political element is not acceptable. There are forums, platform for that outside of football. Take that somewhere else.

"It is not for inside Celtic Park. It is not what the values are, the ethos is and it is certainly not what I'm about as a manager.

"I have huge admiration for the support they give but my honest feelings is that I'm not with it, I am very much aligned with the thinking of the board and the people that run the club, the people that have to pay the fines. That is my answer to it."

Following the Rosenborg game, and the vast majority were allowed back in for the Hearts game.

November 2019
More banners on show in the 2019 clash against Lazio brought UEFA's hammer down on the club.

Celtic were hit with a near £13,000 sanction after the Green Brigade unfurled a giant banner appearing to show fascist leader Benito Mussolini being hanged - along with the message "follow your leader."


That was seemingly in response to Lazio fans who had earlier marched through Glasgow giving Roman salutes

It resulted in Celtic's third UEFA fine of the season and the Green Brigade were later banned "until further notice," - however it was lifted in time for the Betfred Cup final with Rangers less than a fortnight later.

Then Parkhead chief Peter Lawwell said at the time: "It's a small minority that let us down and it's a challenge in terms of safety and of protecting our reputation.

"The concerning thing for us is that they don't seem to believe that they're doing anything wrong. In terms of overcrowding, pyrotechnics, abusive banners, abusive singing, alcohol in the stadium - these things can't go on. They're against the law, against ground regulations, against rules of the competition.

"When you see a banner or you hear a song, your heart just sinks because that's not who we are. It gives our enemies an opportunity to class us as the same as other clubs and portraying it as two sides of the same coin. We're different but it gives our opponents an opportunity to class us as the same."

February 2022
And that leads us to the present day when a pyro display against Rangers has led the club to act once more.



It comes amid fears they could be hit with a partial stadium closure if more flares and smokebombs are visible in the home end in the weeks ahead.

The club say they are "reviewing the matchday operations" in the North Curve section and fans affected will reallocated.

‘Bags of cocaine everywhere’ – Fan disorder on the rise in English football, with 50 per cent increase in arrests, drug abuse and children being used to smuggle substances and weapons into games - 11/02/2022

Source : https://talksport.com/

Disorder amongst football supporters is on the rise, with a joint investigation between talkSPORT and The Times uncovering the extent of the problem facing the English game.

The Times’ chief sports correspondent Matt Lawton spoke to Jim White and Simon Jordan about the issues that have seen a 50 per cent increase in arrests and children being used to carry drugs and weapons.

The scenes of chaos at Wembley Stadium in July 2021 prior to the Euro 2020 final between England and Italy brought the subject into a renewed focus, with thousands of ticketless fans attempting to break into the Home of Football.

The situation was so severe that a Government report by Baroness Louise Casey was conducted, and found that severe injuries could have been caused, or even deaths.

Fast forward six months and, whilst thankfully no problem to that scale has been reported, the trend is heading that way.

Times journalist Lawton was in attendance for the East Midlands derby as Nottingham Forest hosted rivals Leicester City in the FA Cup on Sunday, February 6, and witnessed drugs being consumed, amongst other disturbances – including a Foxes supporter who was arrested for invading the pitch and attacking Forest players.

After speaking with the head of football policing, Mark Roberts, the football writer agreed to join police to shadow their operation during a number of games, to see for himself what they’re having to deal with on a weekly basis.

“They suggested two matches in Nottingham – Notts County vs Grimsby on the Saturday and Forest vs Leicester on the Sunday – they expected those games to be problematic. I spent the weekend on the frontline seeing for myself what they deal with,” he said on White and Jordan

“We started on the Saturday morning with the arrival of Grimsby fans at Nottingham station.

“We arrived and the first operation was called Operation Wolfgang with the sniffer dogs to see if these guys were turning up with Class-A drugs – and it proved to be the case.

“They set up a checkpoint, the dogs were there, and what we found was that once they’d all gone through, and some of them were stopped as the dogs responded accordingly, was that they had dumped bags of cocaine on the platform. Once 400 of these guys had gone through, the train platform was littered with drugs. It was extraordinary.

“Something Baroness Casey said in her report, about the trouble in Wembley in the European Championship final, that she thought there was clear evidence that a lot of this disorder is being fuelled by cocaine use, and there it was.

“There were bags and bags of it all over the place.”

Sadly, the problem is not a quick fix as Lawton also revealed that children are being used to carry drugs and weapons and smuggle them into matches.

He continued: “I’ve been covering football for nearly 30 years, I hadn’t really seen the issues that the police are having to deal with every day quite so close up before.

“It was a real eye opener, the really telling part for me was the age of some of the lads that are getting involved with these groups.

“They’re very very young, they’re as young as 12 and they’re hanging out with guys in their 40s and 50s and one of the officers said they’re carrying Class-A drugs, they’re carrying weapons.

“They’re there for one reason and they’re there not to watch the football, they’re actually there just to have a fight.

“Every football club in the country has a dedicated officer, they’re like community police officers who spend half of their week visiting homes of kids they’ve seen at the weekend, sitting down with their parents and saying, ‘do you realise your 14-year-old son is hanging out with some pretty bad company at the weekend?’ On quite a few occasions they are not even aware they have got on a train to another part of the country to watch a football match. It’s quite scary, really.”

Fan violence and planned attacks are another problem, although that is perhaps not something that has been on the rise, rather that it never went away.

And Lawton revealed his eye witness account of the scenes of ‘carnage’ before Sunday’s cup game as an organised group of Leicester hooligans descended on a pub where locals were enjoying their lunch.

“I didn’t realise the Baby Squad at Leicester still existed, this crew that has been written about in book about football hooliganism, it was founded in 1981, and the Forest Executive Crew, but at the police strategy meeting in the morning they were talking about those crews, known members and the fact they had intelligence they were planning to meet,” he said.

“The two teams hadn’t played since 2014 and they were planning to meet somewhere unspecified in the city centre.

“We started at the train station but were soon aware that once the first few trains had come in that they hadn’t come on the train. They’d probably come in another way, in minibuses.

“Suddenly they got the call, fighting had broken out outside this pub and when we turned up it was total carnage.

“There were people eating their Sunday lunch in this pub and Leicester City fans are throwing tables and chairs through the windows – it was horrific.”

Lawton’s take away from his weekend spent on the police frontlines was that, unless everyone works together, football could be going back to what it used to be in the 1970s and 80s.

“I should stress that I spent the weekend in Nottingham and 95 percent of the people there were behaving in the way you want them to,” said the Times journalist.

“It’s mums and dads, kids, they buy their chips, burgers, some have a beer and it’s a lovely day out.

“The concern here is this minority is growing, if you go to a game and encounter these groups, it is very, very intimidating and it’s actually starting to make it unpleasant to go to football matches again.

“English football did respond to what had happened in the 70s and 80s, and it did become a good atmosphere.

“You’re never going to completely eradicate this problem and I think we can get on top of this, but we’ve got to work together.”


A large group of fans were chaperoned by police after violence broke out in Nottingham city centre

Lyon - OGC Nice - 12/02/2022

Source : https://www.getfootballnewsfrance.com/

Nice supporters barred from travelling to Lyon game

RMC Sport report this afternoon that a local decree has banned away supporters from tomorrow evening’s clash between Lyon and Nice.

The police prefect of the Rhône department, where the city of Lyon is located, released the decree the day before the game.

Specifically, those who manifest themselves as Nice fans will not be allowed to travel to Lyon from 8am to midnight. The decree also bans alcohol, flares, pyrotechnic material and any potential projectile from the stadium.

The move is the latest in a long line of local decrees restricting football supporters across France in recent years, which have only increased in light of a particularly tense season for crowd trouble. Marseille fans have also been banned from the Metz city centre and stadium for their match on Sunday.

Middlesbrough FC - Derby County - 12/02/2022

Source : https://www.gazettelive.co.uk/

There was a large, highly visible police presence in the town centre before kick-off in the Championship clash.

That was due to much publicised matters off the pitch, although this did not affect the mood of the fans who where just there to enjoy a great day out and hopefully see Boro seal a win against the Rams.

Away from the ground and further into the town centre the atmosphere took a bit of a different turn, with a heavy police presence and two police vans outside Dr Browns on Corporation Road.

One man was seen being escorted into the back of a police van as officers surrounded the venue.

Police officers appeared to be waiting for this situation to be resolved before allowing fans to leave the premises.

Soon after the incident fans started to exit the premises and huddle outside the pub, officers then made their way with the small crowd of fans in the direction of the Riverside.

Teesside Live spoke to one of the doormen of Dr Browns, who said: "It's been a bit crazy, some lads were throwing bottles in the street a little while ago.

"A few people were banging on the window, it was already cracked but I think its a bit worse than it was before now, but that's been it really.



Boro lads


---------------------------

Source : https://www.bbc.co.uk/

Seventeen arrests at Middlesbrough v Derby match

Police said there were "pockets of disorder" at the stadium and across the town centre, before, during and after the match.

Palmeiras fan shot dead in Brazil after Club World Cup final - 12/02/2022

Source : https://mynorthwest.com/

A fan of Brazilian soccer power Palmeiras was shot dead outside the club’s stadium Saturday amid street violence after the team’s 2-1 loss to Chelsea in the Club World Cup final in Abu Dhabi.

Sao Paulo police Investigator Cesar Saad told journalists a suspect had been arrested in the shooting. He added that 15 other fans were injured in clashes with police or in fights among themselves.

Portsmouth FC - Doncaster Rovers - 12/02/2022

Source : Youtube

PFC hooligans have attacked Doncaster counterparts inside a pub.

Hapoel Tel Aviv - Maccabi Tel Aviv - 12/02/2022

Source : mail

+- 50 Hapoel vs +- 80 Maccabi.
Some injured on both sides due to rocks exchanged.

Free fight - 12/02/2022

Source : mail

Roda JC vs Standard Liège
U21
7 vs 7
Win Roda

Czech Republic: Free fight - 12/02/2022

Source : mail

Zbrojovka Jugend (Brno) vs Youth Generation Olomouc (hockey group)
6 vs 6
Win Brno

Levski Sofia - Pirin Blagoevgrad - Friendly game- 12/02/2022

Source : https://darik.news/

Levski

Everton FC - Leeds United - 12/02/2022

Source : Mail

Bradford Park Avenue - York City - 09/02/2022

Source : https://yorkmix.com/

York City fan ‘bottled’ in after-match football violence: Police investigating

Police are investigating after a young York City fan was allegedly bottled following last night’s game in Bradford.

The incident happened at the Horsfall Stadium. City beat hosts Bradford Park Avenue 4-2.

At least one boy, aged 16, was hurt in post-match altercations with the Bradford fans, although there are reports that as many as three were injured.

According to eye witnesses the young York fan who was bottled was set upon unprovoked. His facial injuries, not thought to be serious, were treated by the Bradford Park Avenue club physio.

Reading FC - Coventry City - 12/02/2022

Source : https://www.the-sun.com/

Furious Reading fans swarm pitch after Coventry loss to confront manager after SEVENTH straight Championship defeat

READING fans stormed onto the Madejski pitch after a 3-2 defeat against Coventry left them only two points above the relegation zone.

UTA Arad - Dinamo Bucarest - 13/02/2022

Source : Mail

Sud Dinamo


This group clashed with some locals who attacked them while they were inside a pub.

FC Nantes - SC Bastia - French Cup - 10/02/2022

Source : https://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/

Troubles erutpted at the end of the game between Bastia fans and stewards.

Young Boys Bern - FC Basel - Cup - 12/02/2022

Source : https://www.radiolac.ch/

Troubles in Bern after YB - Bâle

Clashes between supporters occurred on Saturday evening in Bern on the sidelines of the Swiss Cup semi-final between Young Boys and Basel (2-0). The police fired rubber bullets and arrested eight people.

The troublemakers, some masked, gave the police a hard time at the end of the match, near the stadium. A fairly large group of supporters began running in the streets before rubbing shoulders with "other people", the cantonal police said on Sunday.

Police officers were called in to disperse the individuals, in particular using rubber bullets. Eight supporters of both teams were arrested.

No one was hurt. But pyrotechnic devices, brass knuckles and defensive objects were seized. Several investigations are underway.

Genoa - Salernitana - 13/02/2022

Source : https://www.salernonotizie.it/

Prior to the game, some Genoa tifosi have attacked vans with away fans inside, using home-mad bombs.
Salernitana fans went out and chased troublemakers.

12th Suspect in Thessaloniki Murder Turns Himself In - 14/02/2022

Source : https://www.thenationalherald.com/

The 12th suspect wanted by police in connection with the murder of a 19-year-old by football hooligans in Thessaloniki, the driver of the third car involved in the incident, has turned himself in to the authorities, judicial sources revealed on Monday.

The lead prosecutor in the case of the murder of a 19-year-old student is investigating how testimony from two of his friends, who were also attacked, was leaked.

That was said to have happened in two hearings into the investigation of the slaying of Alkis Kambanos in the Feb. 1 assault, the prosecutor said to have asked a magistrate hearing it to determine if there were any criminal violations of judicial confidentiality, said Kathimerini.

The two witnesses gave testimony to the magistrate about what happened in the assault in which 10 men poured out of two cars and went after the three victims, with Kambanos hit on the head with a crowbar as he pleaded for it to stop, and then stabbed in the leg with a curved knife.

That led to his bleeding out on the street while surveillance video showed the attackers running to getaway cars but all were apprehended within days, including one who fled to his native Albania but turned himself in and has been returned to Greece.

Other leaks were said to have included testimony from a 22-year-old suspect and messages exchanged between the alleged attackers, the paper said, although it wasn’t indicated who may have gotten the information or why.

Everton vs Leeds: Pepper spray use towards fans 'proportionate and necessary', say police - 15/02/2022

Source : https://sportstar.thehindu.com/

British police have defended using pepper spray against Leeds United fans in Saturday's Premier League match at Everton, arguing the measure was "proportionate and necessary".

Videos on social media after the 3-0 Everton win showed officers spraying fans with a substance as pockets of violence broke out at the match, with several Leeds supporters rubbing their eyes.

Merseyside Police said that the spray, known as PAVA, was used after some people threw bottles at officers, and two were struck in the face as they tried to detain a male supporter who had head-butted a steward.

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"When police were assaulted, officers deployed PAVA spray in order to bring the situation under control for the safety of fans near to the disturbance," said a statement.

"Efforts were made immediately after to identify anyone affected by the spray and provide them with aftercare and support. The use of PAVA in this incident has been reviewed by our Professional Standards Department, who are satisfied that its use was proportionate and necessary."

The statement added that a 44-year-old male had been arrested on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and assaulting an officer.

Leeds did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the use of the spray.

ACR Messina - Foggia Calcio - 12/02/2022

Source : Youtube

Foggia

Levante - Real Betis - 13/02/2022

Source : mail

Supporters Gol Sur Betis