THURSDAY, APRIL 3, 2014 SPORTS Hooliganism still haunts European game

LONDON: The violent death of a fan on the In one recent case Spartak Moscow and mean knife attacks on an opposing fans’ pelled flare launched from the Partizan end away from grounds. opening weekend of the Swedish season Shinnik Yaroslavl were fined and ordered to buttocks. that flew across the pitch above the players’ As with many other countries, trouble on Sunday was a sharp reminder that while play matches behind closed doors follow- heads and into the visiting supporters’ sec- still occurs further away from grounds riots in Europe’s stadiums are largely a thing ing violence at a cup match where Nazi Greece is undoubtedly one of European tion. while there are still regular problems in of the past, hooliganism has not been eradi- banners were unfurled. football’s violence blackspots and has a che- many lower league games, often unreport- cated. In 2010, several thousand youths rioted quered track record of incidents including TURKEY ed as they take place away from the media Modern policing and stewarding, and outside the Kremlin, clashing with police pitch invasions, stabbings and attacks on Turkey is no stranger to soccer violence spotlight. Generally, however, most widespread use of CCTV, has meant that and attacking passers-by who they took for police. with numerous incidents occurring this sea- grounds are now considered safe destina- most stadiums are largely trouble-free envi- non-Russians, after the death of an ethnic Fighting involving organised fan clubs is son. A major Istanbul derby between tions and colour-draped fans of opposing ronments on the inside and few now have Russian soccer fan was blamed on a man commonplace. The main culprits are the tra- Besiktas and Galatasaray was halted and later teams can usually be seen travelling along- the need for fenced segregation. from the North Caucasus. ditional big clubs, Olympiakos Piraeus, cancelled in September when fans invaded side each other to the game - unthinkable However, as the appalling events in President Vladimir Putin, seeking to Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and PAOK the pitch, with police using teargas to dis- 20 years ago. , when a Djurgarden fan in his 40s appease soccer fans and soothe the worst Salonika, and, like in , it is common for perse the crowd. died after being assaulted on his way to a outbreak of ethnic violence in Moscow in the ‘ultras’ factions around those teams to Galatasaray were awarded the match and FRANCE game in Helsingborg show, associated vio- post-Soviet history, met with football clash both inside and outside of stadiums Besiktas were ordered to play four home There is a difference between ‘ultras’ and lence is still rife in many places. Below we enthusiasts and laid flowers at the grave of before and after matches. games with only women and children in the hooligans in France. Ultras are known for examine the current hooligan situation the dead supporter, Yegor Sviridov. Many There is an emerging trend for hooligans stands. their fanatical support and use of flares, but around Europe: observers, however, say that his death and to target sports other than soccer, such as One fan died and another was critically they are usually not out for violence. much of the violence is related to ethnic handball, volleyball and water polo where injured when they were stabbed at a protest While hooliganism is on the decline in SCANDINAVIA tensions rather than football. there is usually a limited police presence. staged by Fenerbahce fans in July against France, the problem has not been fully The death of father of four Stefan All of those clubs listed have been pun- UEFA’s decision to ban the club from crushed, with St Germain and Isaksson has thrust the hooligan problem ITALY ished with heavy fines and have been European competition. Olympique Lyon two of the clubs where back into the spotlight in Sweden. Italy is famous for its ‘ultras’, groups of forced to play matches behind closed doors A similar incident occurred last May when trouble has been known to flare up, espe- According to police reports he was struck hardcore fans who are frequently behind in recent seasons as part of an attempted Galatasaray fans stabbed to death a teenager cially around European games. PSG imple- on the head with a blunt instrument before the stadium violence which has dogged all crackdown from the government, the Greek wearing a Fenerbahce shirt at a bus stop mented the ‘Plan Leproux’ (Robin Leproux, being kicked and beaten as he made his levels of the country’s football since the FA and the Super League. after an end-of-season derby in Istanbul. former PSG president) in 2010 to eradicate way to see his side take on Helsingborg. 1970s. The Turkish football federation replaced all fans groups at the club, which had a big The game went ahead as planned, but The death of policeman Filippo Raciti BALKANS their policy of punishing teams with stadium impact on disrupting hooliganism. was abandoned when his fellow fans invad- during the fighting that followed the Football hooliganism was non-existent supporter bans in 2011, choosing instead to ed the pitch having received reports that he Catania-Palermo derby of February 2007 led under communist rule in the former allow women and children to attend. GERMANY had died in hospital from his injuries. authorities to introduce a number of hard- Yugoslavia but the country’s bloody break- In March Trabzonspor’s match against Germany has seen cases of hooliganism line measures. up in the 1990s let the genie out of the bot- Fenerbahce was abandoned in the first half drop from their height in the 1980s but NORWAY These included blanket bans on away tle, as it went hand in hand with political after Fenerbahce players were pelted with matches are still marred by clashes, usually Home of the Nobel peace prize — is fan travel, banning orders handed out by strife, ethnic tensions and economic depres- objects thrown onto the pitch by home fans. outside the stadium or in the city. much calmer than its Nordic neighbors, the police rather than the courts and an ID sion. Supporters also clashed with police in the Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04 fans with few violent incidents or organised bat- card scheme which has targeted normal and Croatia came to the fore, streets of Trabzon following the match and keep police busy whenever the two Ruhr tles taking place. fans and hooligans alike. especially the former as the Belgrade derby Trabzonspor were later punished with a six- valley sides meet and extensive clashes Some major flare-ups still occur, howev- between bitter city foes Red Star and game “no fans” ban. between the two sides occurred as recently RUSSIA er, with Rome derbies blighted by stabbings Partizan became a fixture with a history of as October 2012, when some 200 fans in Soccer hooliganism has been on the rise and clashes with police, while this season’s regular crowd trouble, producing several ENGLAND total were detained. The league’s (DFL) in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union in match between Bologna and Hellas Verona fatalities down the years. England, which suffered so badly with biggest day-to-day problem however is the 1991. “Firms”, are now attached to all of the was the scene of fighting between rival Violence rarely occurs near the heavily- hooliganism in the 1970s and 80s that the use of flares inside stadiums, including in country’s major clubs and fights between fans. policed stadiums, but brawls, in which fans problem was sometimes described as “the that derby where Dortmund fans lit dozens hooligans and scuffles with police are a reg- Violence is not limited solely to stadi- fight each other with iron bars, baseball bats English disease”, has largely put its house in and threw them into the Schalke tribunes, ular phenomenon in the Russian leagues, ums, but also the surrounding areas and and whatever else they can find, are regular- order. delaying the start of the game. either starting spontaneously at stadiums or motorway service stations as fans criss-cross ly sighted in Belgrade’s outskirts and even in A concentrated clamp-down by police, Dortmund boss Hans-Joachim Watzke as pre-agreed battles in remote sites. the country in large organised groups. the city’s central residential areas on match involving detailed intelligence operations, has pledged to crack down on his own Violence is often accompanied by national- Ultras use knives, but rarely to inflict seri- days. An horrific incident occurred in 1999, helped identify many of the regular trou- ultras and Dortmund were sanctioned for ist or racist slogans and symbols. ous harm, and talk about “light stabbing” to when a Red Star fan was killed by a pro- ble-makers and banning orders kept them their fans’ behavior. —Reuters Barca get transfer ban for breaching rules on minors

BERNE: Barcelona have been given a transfer ban for two consecutive windows and fined 450,000 Swiss francs ($509,400) for breaching rules on the international transfer of foreign under-18 players, FIFA said yesterday. The Spanish federation (RFEF) was fined 500,000 Swiss francs after soccer’s world govern- ing body found it had also breached rules on the transfer of minors, FIFA added in a statement. FRANCE: Juventus Turin’s players take part in a training session on the eve of The decision by FIFA’s disciplinary committee the UEFA Europa League quarter-final football match between Olympique means the Spanish champions will be barred from Lyon and Juventus. —AFP taking part in the transfer market until the end of the 2014/15 season. FIFA described the infringements, which and Spain in occurred between 2009 and 2013, as “serious” and said Barca had been given 90 days to regularise the situation of the players involved. battle for supremacy The RFEF was also given one year to “regularise their regulatory framework and existing system ITALY: Portugal and Spain have provided Valencia is in a group of teams chasing concerning the international transfer of minors in at least one team in nine of the past 11 eighth place in the Spanish league which football.” finals of the UEFA Cup or Europa League could earn the last Europa League qualify- FIFA said: “The RFEF and FC Barcelona were and the two countries dominate the quar- ing spot. found to have violated several provisions concern- terfinal lineup for this year’s competition. Basel is without veteran striker Marco ing the international transfer and first registration The Portuguese pair of Benfica and Streller, while Valencia’s main injury of non-Spanish minors with the club.” Porto and Spanish sides Valencia and absence is Brazil goalkeeper Diego Alves. “Barcelona has been found to be in breach of... Sevilla are battling for supremacy in the regulations in the case of ten minor players Europe’s second-tier competition with FC PORTO-SEVILLA and to have committed several other concurrent SPAIN: Barcelona’s President Josep Maria Bartomeu (left) talks with Atletico Madrid’s Juventus, which is the biggest name in the For a picture of FC Porto’s woes, look infringements in the context of other players,” it President Enrique Crerezo (right) in this file photo. —AFP last eight and seeking to reach a final that no further than Ricardo Quaresma. The added. will be played in its home stadium in Turin. Portugal winger missed a penalty in A Barcelona spokesman said the club were The first legs take place today, with Porto’s 2-1 defeat at Nacional last week- evaluating the decision and would not make any Juventus - the leader by 11 points in the end, contributing to the defending cham- further comment, including on whether they Barcelona’s Five problems Italian league - visiting Lyon. FC Porto pion’s second loss in three games and intended to appeal. hosts Sevilla in the other standout quar- leaving it 15 points off the lead. As Porto’s The sanctions are another blow to Barcelona’s MADRID: Spanish giants Barcelona were hit president and Barca being charged with tax terfinal, while it’s also FC Basel vs. Valencia frustration boiled over amid another mis- reputation following the controversy over the by a one-year transfer ban from football’s fraud. and AZ Alkmaar vs. Benfica. erable performance, Quaresma lost his transfer of Brazil forward , whose signing governing body FIFA yesterday for “serious” Here is a lookahead to today’s games: head and flung himself at an opponent in from Santos prompted allegations of misappropri- breaches of rules in acquiring under-age l Camp Nou referendum up in the air. an on-field fracas that could earn him a ation of funds and tax evasion and resulted in the players. The news comes at the worst possible LYON-JUVENTUS lengthy suspension. resignation of the Catalan club’s president Sandro Here, AFP sports looks at what problems time for Barca’s embattled board, led by Rosell. Eliminating Juventus, the big tourna- Porto’s downward slide, which brought the Catalans could face should the sanction new president Josep Maria Bartomeu as ment favorite, will be an uphill battle for a the mid-season departure of coach Paulo Including a payment of 13.5 million euros to the Spanish treasury after fraud charges were laid be upheld. their proposal for a 600 million euro ($827 depleted and exhausted Lyon. For its Fonseca and his replacement with B-team million) refurbishment of the Camp Nou will 52nd game this season, the French side interim coach Luis Castro, contrasts with against the club, the Brazil forward ended up cost- ing just under 100 million euros ($137.94 million). l Can’t replace Valdes or Puyol. go to a vote of the club’s members on will be without defenders Bisevac, Sevilla’s rise. In March, the club’s vice-president Javier Faus This summer’s transfer window was Saturday. Samuel Umtiti, Miguel Lopes and The southern Spanish club defeated said Barcelona would have up to 60 million already set to the be the most important in It was already expected that the referen- Mouhamadou Dabo, and Real Madrid last week as part of a six- euros to spend on new players in the close sea- Barca’s recent history as captain Carles Puyol dum could allow the Barca support to voice Gueida Fofana, Clement Grenier and game winning streak. Porto and Sevilla son. and veteran goalkeeper Victor Valdes have their displeasure at the board who refused Yoann Gourcuff. While Lyon is fifth in are both two-time winners of Europe’s indicated their intention to leave the club in to call new presidential elections despite , Juventus is the runaway leader in second-tier competition, including when KEY PRINCIPLES despite a 2-0 loss to Napoli at the was known as the UEFA Cup. June. Rosell’s resignation in January. “The disciplinary committee underlined that Twenty-one-year-old German interna- weekend. FIFA takes the protection of minors in football very Juventus striker Carlos Tevez, the top AZ ALKMAAR-BENFICA tional ‘keeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen was on l Huge distraction seriously,” said soccer’s world governing body. the verge of completing his move from FIFA’s bombshell fell barely 12 hours after scorer in the Italian league with 18 goals, For Dick Advocaat, AZ Alkmaar’s quar- “The protection of minors is one of the key Borussia Monchengladbach to replace Barca had drawn at home to Atletico Madrid was suspended for the Napoli match but terfinal against Benfica is the beginning of principles included in the agreement concluded should return for Lyon as the Argentina the end of his tenure at the Dutch club. between FIFA, (European governing body) UEFA Valdes with another three signings planned in the first-leg of their Champions League international seeks a first goal in The vastly experienced coach, who and the European Commission in 2001. to boost the depth of the squad ahead of quarter-final on Tuesday. European competition since April 2009. replaced Gertjan Verbeek in October, “The disciplinary committee acknowledged next season. Gerardo Martino’s men also trail leaders announced at the weekend that he will be that young football players are vulnerable to Barca are already very short of options at Atletico by just a point with seven games to FC BASEL-VALENCIA leaving the club at the close of this season exploitation and abuse in a foreign country with- centre-back and the inability to find a suc- go in and face Real Madrid in the The sounds of Basel vs. Valencia will when his contract expires. Out of con- out the proper controls. cessor to Puyol will put enormous pressure Copa del Rey final on April 16. echo around an empty 38,000-capacity St. tention in the Dutch league and knocked “This particular fact makes the protection of on the club’s vaunted La Masia academy. The players and coaching staff must once Jakob Park stadium. UEFA ordered the out of the domestic cup, the Europa minors in football by the sport’s governing bodies, again block out negative news off the field first leg to be played without fans as pun- League is his last chance to cap his brief especially by FIFA, even more important.” l Another blow to the club’s battered to concentrate on their fight for titles on ishment after Basel supporters temporari- stay in Alkmaar with a trophy. FIFA’s rules ban the international transfer of reputation. three fronts. ly stopped play during its 2-1 win at Last year’s losing finalist, Benfica wants under-18 players except in limited circumstances Just a few years ago Barcelona enjoyed Salzburg two weeks ago. After Swiss fans to make up for the disappointment of fin- which must be evaluated by its Players’ Status worldwide acclaim for their “more than a l Could rob La Masia of future talent threw fireworks on the pitch in the first ishing last season empty-handed after let- Committee. club” motto as they had UNICEF rather than Whilst the majority of those who gradu- ting a potential league, cup and Europa “The protection of minors in the context of half, the referee took both teams to the a commercial sponsor on their shirts and ate from Barca’s academy come from the locker rooms. League treble slip out of its grasp. international transfers is an important social and produced one of the best teams the world local Catalan region, Barca have never been Basel is making its second straight run Beaten by Chelsea in the 2013 Europa legal issue that concerns all stakeholders in foot- has ever seen under Pep Guardiola largely adverse to acquiring talent from outwith at the Europa League title, after being League final, it also lost the Portuguese ball,” it said. “Above all, the disciplinary committee Spain at a very young age. highlighted that while international transfers with players from La Masia. eliminated in the semifinals by eventual Cup final and surrendered its Portuguese Most famously of all, four-time World winner Chelsea one year ago. league lead two weeks before the end of might, in specific cases, be favourable to a young However, Guardiola’s departure has coin- Player of the Year left his native While the league-leading Swiss cham- the season. player’s sporting career, they are very likely to be cided with a commercial sponsorship agree- Argentine to join Barca aged 13. FIFA’s clam- pion can probably look forward to more It’s also into the semifinals of the contrary to the best interests of the player as a ment with Airways and the controver- Champions League football next season, Portuguese Cup, and has a seven-point minor.” FIFA said its investigations were conducted sial signing of Brazilian star Neymar which pdown may scare off Barca’s future attempts Valencia might need to win this trophy to lead at the top of the league with five with the help of its electronic transfer matching led to Sandro Rosell resigning as the club’s to discover a new Messi. —AFP return to European competition. rounds to play. —AP system. —Reuters