Poznań football party turns nasty
PR dla Zagranicy
Roberto Galea
08.06.2015 09:34
Thousands of people took to the streets of Poznań to celebrate Lech Poznań winning the title of Polish champions, however the party soon turned sour with hooligans turning violent.
The spontaneous party soon turned violent. Photo: PAP/Jakub Kaczmarczyk
Lech Poznań managed the draw they needed to clinch the Polish title on Sunday, wrapping up the last day of the season with a 0-0 result against Wisła Kraków.
Football fans celebrated with flags and fireworks in the centre of the city in west-central Poland.
But the positive atmosphere soon changed when hooligans took over the spontaneous party. These drunkenly hurled glass bottles at the crowd and destroyed property.
The police was forced to use pepper spray on the rowdy crowds on the Stary Rynek (old market square) in the city. According to information by the police, as many as 300 hooligans wanted to enter a squat house on Paderewski street and set it on fire. The police managed to close access to the street and stop this from happening.
Among the damages was a transmission van owned by national broadcaster TVP. The operator of the van, Bartłomiej Wojtczak told TVP Info that he requested police assistance, but this never materialised.
Hooligans managed to break some of the glass on the van and damaged the broadcasting system on the van including the antenna. Wojtczak said that this could cost up to PLN 300,000.
A spokesperson for the police said that a thorough investigation will be launched and the perpetrators brought to justice. (rg)
Source: IAR