Poles, Russians brawl before soccer match; 120 arrested
WARSAW — Riot police fired teargas and rubber bullets at Polish and Russian football fans who fought bloody battles near a Warsaw stadium Tuesday, bringing the rocky relationship between the two to the forefront hours before their Euro 2012 match.
Groups of young men, some of them masked, pelted Polish officers with rocks, bottles and flares. Television footage showed one man lying motionless on the ground, but Poland’s Interior Ministry denied media reports that one person died.
Fearing further violence, police asked the 9,850 Russian supporters who watched their team tie Poland 1-1 to remain at the Warsaw stadium for 20 minutes to better protect them when they exited the venue.
Nonetheless, there were still some scuffles after the match as fans returned into the city centre from the stadium.
Authorities had been bracing for a confrontation at the game between the neighbouring countries, whose relations have been poisoned by centuries of conflict and the Soviet domination of Poland for more than four decades after the Second World War Two.
Riot police were seen dragging people off as Polish fans chanted: “Russia whores, Russia whores” and “Hit the red trash with a hammer, with a sickle”.
At least 120 people were detained and 11 people, mostly Poles, needed medical treatment, though none of the injuries was lifethreatening, the Interior Ministry said.
Officers used water cannon, teargas and rubber bullets, a police spokesman said.
WARSAW, Poland — Alan Dzagoev scored his third goal of the European Championship, and Jakub Blaszczykowski scored what will surely be one of the goals of the tournament.
With hooligans fighting one another and police away from the stadium, Russia and Poland played out a 1-1 draw Tuesday. The result left Russia at the top of Group A, but all four teams still have a chance to qualify for the quarterfinals.
“We’re still in the tournament, so with this point a win in our final match puts us into the knockout stage,” Blaszczykowski said.
Dzagoev was first to score Tuesday. He darted past defender Lukasz Piszczek in the 37th minute and sent a glancing header beyond goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton after a curling free kick from Andrei Arshavin.
Russia continued to push forward after the goal, allowing Poland to equalize on the counter in the 57th when Blaszczykowski cut in from the right and sent a searing left-foot drive into the far corner of the goal.
“I think we deserve praise because all of us put a lot into this match,” Blaszczykowski said. “The tactics we set up before the match we carried out 100 per cent.”
At least 11 people were injured in fighting among fans. Polish police also fired rubber bullets and tear gas at a group of young Poles who attacked them with glass bottles.
On the field, Russia’s rampant attack in the opening 4-1 win over the Czechs was largely muzzled by a well-organized Polish defence. At the other end, Robert Lewandowski was a constant threat.
“When we went 1-0 up, I thought we’d get more space like we did against the Czech Republic, but that didn’t happen,” Russia coach Dick Advocaat said. “We lost the ball too fast when we were going forward. We left the field too open.”
Earlier Tuesday, the Czechs played themselves back into Group A contention by scoring two early goals and hanging on to beat Greece 2-1 in Wroclaw. —