DENMARK: POLICE USE TEAR GAS TO BREAK UP RENEWED FIGHTS BETWEEN ARSENAL AND GALATASARAY FANS IN COPENHAGEN

Record ID: 375837

  • Title: DENMARK: POLICE USE TEAR GAS TO BREAK UP RENEWED FIGHTS BETWEEN ARSENAL AND GALATASARAY FANS IN COPENHAGEN
  • Date: 17th May 2000
  • Summary: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK (MAY 17, 2000) (REUTERS) 1. GALATASARAY FANS WITH HUGE FLAG (2 SHOTS) 0.12 2. ARSENAL FANS (YELLOW JERSEYS) DRINKING AND CHANTING 0.19 3. GALATASARAY FANS ABOVE KEBAB SHOP 0.23 4. RIOT POLICE NEAR ARSENAL FANS (2 SHOTS) 0.34 5. SCUFFLE BREAKS OUT, ARSENAL FANS RUNS AFTER GALATASARAY FAN 0.47 6. P
  • Embargoed: 1st June 2000 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: COPENHAGEN, DENMARK
  • Country: Denmark
  • Reuters ID: LVA8MG56XR28553WPOIL1A6CSN8W
  • Story Text: Police in riot gear fired tear gas and used dogs to
    break up renewed fights between rival English and Turkish
    soccer fans in the Danish capital on Wednesday, hours before
    the UEFA Cup final.

    An estimated 1,000 supporters of Turkish club
    Galatasaray and a few hundred fans of England's Arsenal had
    gathered at the central City Hall square and many more were in
    nearby streets.

    Terrified schoolchildren ran for cover and a man in a
    wheelchair choked from the stinging effects of tear gas.

    The square was the scene of overnight riots that left
    seven people injured, one of them an English fan who received
    serious stab wounds.

    Ten people, six Turks and four English, were arrested.

    Witnesses said police arrested two Turks in the later
    clashes.British television pictures showed one Turkish fan
    injured, and ambulances were arriving at the square.

    The killing of two Leeds fans in the cup semi-final tie in
    Istanbul has stirred bad blood between English and Turkish
    fans.

    Arsenal have been relatively free of the hooliganism that
    has long accompanied English football teams in Europe.The
    Turks have rarely been in trouble abroad but boast of making
    Istanbul a "hell" for visiting teams.

    More than 10,000 Galatasaray and some 12,500 Arsenal
    supporters were expected for the cup final -- one of the
    highlights of the European club soccer season.

    Some 8,000 people of Turkish descent also live in
    Copenhagen, normally a quiet city with a small police force.

    After the night's riots, Copenhagen police spokesman
    Flemming Munch said a lot more police would be in the streets.

    "We hope that we will be able to prevent riots like those last
    night," he told Reuters.

    But fans involved in the overnight riots issued chilling
    warnings of further trouble."It will be war," said one
    Arsenal supporter, declining to give his name.

    The UEFA Cup final is scheduled to kick off at 8:45 p.m.

    (1845 GMT) in Copenhagen's 39,000-capacity Parken stadium.

    No Turkish club has ever won a European soccer trophy.

    Both clubs appealed to their supporters to respect each
    other and the Danish hosts.

    "This is a football match, not a war and the cup will be
    worth nothing if blood is spilled," Galatasaray president
    Faruk Suren said.

    An Arsenal spokesman said the club would "take the
    strongest possible measures against any of our fans found
    guilty of causing trouble here."
    The wounded English fan was in a stable condition after
    being "stabbed in the back and the lungs," police spokesman
    Munch said.The offender had not been caught, Ritzau news
    agency quoted police as saying.

    Galatasaray's success in Europe in recent years has been
    an emotional outlet for millions of Turks who feel shut out of
    the European Union and discriminated against by the West.

    "Win and we'll erect your statues," Turkey's Hurriyet
    newspaper said on its front page on Wednesday.
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