Chaos before the derby: violent riots among football fans!

Chaos before the derby: violent riots among football fans!

During the 21st round football games there were chaotic scenes in Graz that called for the police. At Merkur Arena, a medical emergency was reported in the stands, resulting in a 15-minute delay in play. But the situation was even more dramatic in Hartberg, where there were violent riots with Rapid fans trying to bypass security checks. How 5min.at reported that police and security forces were pelted with glass bottles and other objects during an operation. A security guard and a police officer were spat on, which led to the arrests of two men and further escalated the situation. The riots included the looting of stalls in the away fans' sector, during which cash was stolen.

The incidents began the night before the Graz derby, when police officers chased around 20 masked people in the city center. These presumably came from the GAK camp and were held responsible by the police for throwing bottles, like that Small newspaper reported. The police had prepared for the games with intensive controls, which proved to be the right thing to do as the situation around Kaiser-Josef-Platz escalated at times. Despite the turbulent events, the police reported that the Graz city derby was largely calm overall, thanks to the massive police operation.

The operation came after a massive use of pyrotechnics by around 300 storm fans, which triggered a fire alarm. Here, too, several physical injuries were found among the fans. As police tried to regain control, the complicated incidents created a tense atmosphere that lasted until match day.