[Mark]

157 detained in Austria

Austrian police have detained 157 mainly German fans in Klagenfurt, where Germany beat Poland 2-0, with most of the arrests made when supporters began chanting Nazi slogans in the city centre.

Originally Posted by eurosport.yahoo.com

Polish and German fans, who had travelled in large numbers for the emotionally-charged match, also clashed in the city's public viewing areas and needed to be separated by police.

"Yesterday was the day of reckoning for us after four years of preparation," a police spokesman said.

"There were challenges everywhere, but due to the information provided by hooligan spotters police could take precise and timely action," he said.

Some 80,000 fans travelled to Klagenfurt, Euro 2008's smallest city with a population of just 91,000. Around 30,000 came from Poland, 25,000 from Germany and 5,000 from Croatia.

Of the 157 detained, 144 came from Germany, 10 from Poland, two from Austria and one from Slovenia.

Wolfgang Rauchegger, police commander for the local province of Carinthia, said Austrian and German police detained a group of 140 potentially violent German fans who had congregated by prior arrangement in the city.

"They shouted Nazi slogans," he said.

Witnesses reported hearing the group shout "Sieg Heil", among other Nazi chants.

Four of them had police records as violent individuals.

Germany play Croatia in another Group B game in Klagenfurt on Thursday, and tens of thousands of Croats are expected to descend on the city.

Rauchegger said 30 Croatian hooligan spotters would mingle with fans and they expected some violent fans to try to travel to Klagenfurt.

Asked how known troublemakers had managed to reach Austria from Germany, despite the re-introduction of border checks, Rauchegger said they had probably slipped through spot checks at the frontier.

An Austrian national police spokesman declined to say how many fans travelling from Germany had been denied entry to Austria, but said the number was in double figures.

Some 3,000 police had been on duty for the Group B game in Klagenfurt on Sunday, including 400 German officers.

The arrests recalled scenes in the German city of Dortmund during the 2006 World Cup, where police detained more than 400 people after outbreaks of violence in the run-up to the Germany-Poland match.

Article Here!





That's the things we don't want to see, but unfortunate it happens, and we all now the rivalery between Germany and Poland.

They've had an evan bigger fight in Germany two years ago when they've meet into the group stage aswell.

Anyway good job to the police.


Any other thoughts?

[funkdoctorspock]

Lets see what Blatter and/or Platini have to say about this. Since they love to interject with issues that have nothing to do with them in England.

The game, countries and most importantly people need to grow up and change attitudes in order for racism to begin to subside. Still have a long way to go.

the 157 arrested should be deported immediately or held until the tournament ends.

[Torque]

Yep, I agree with Funky.

They were drunk, but still that's not an excuse.

Btw, are Nazi slogans part of racism?! I don't think so. If it was towards jews, yes. But who care about those slogans. Yes it's not pleasant to hear, but I don't think they deserved to be treated like that.