EXCITING NEWS: TNG WhatsApp Channel is LIVE…
Subscribe for FREE to get LIVE NEWS UPDATE. Click here to subscribe!
The Croatian football semi-final clash that left 17 police officers injured after football fans clashed with authorities have landed about fifty persons involved in the crisis in police net.
The violence kicked off late Wednesday when fans of Hajduk Split rushed the field following their team’s 0-1 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the national cup semi-finals.
Hundreds of Hajduk Split’s ultra fan base, known as the Torcida, tried to repel attack from the visiting team and its supporters.
A police source said that the 17 officers got injured trying to intervene in the crisis.
After being pushed back into the stands, where the fans were ripping off the seats and throwing them along with flares at the officers, violence later spilled in the streets surrounding the stadium.
“Large groups of people on several occasions attacked police throwing flares, bottles, stones and other objects at them”, the statement said.
The officers got injured, mostly by objects thrown at them, and three were hospitalised, one with serious injuries, the statement said.
One police vehicle was also damaged and 54 people were arrested, and firefighters were called to the scene to extinguish several blazes started in nearby dumpsters.
The violence was condemned by officials including Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic, who said there was no “place for violence in sports”.