HighlandBear 1 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 I dont know if its been reported elsewhere than the papers i read but just spotted this on line.. polish fans kicking off POLISH football fans wreaked havoc in the centre of Inverness following their country's defeat in the Euro 2008 championships thousands of miles away in Austria. advertising Click here to find out more! Innocent pedestrians and motorists were caught in the cross-fire as around 100 rampaging Polish football fans blocked traffic, threw bottles and glasses, attacked cars and torched a German flag. The incident forced Northern Constabulary to hold crunch talks with community leaders to try to prevent a repeat. Extra police patrols were introduced for further fixtures. The frightening incident took place in Academy Street and centred around a large group of Polish migrant workers who had gathered in Deeno's Sports Bar to watch Poland play Germany on Sunday, June 8. Eyewitnesses said the atmosphere soon turned ugly when Polish-born German international Lukas Podolski fired in his first of two goals in the 20th minute of the match. The ugly antics erupted on the half-time whistle and many of the Polish supporters – believed to be more than 200 strong – spilled out on to the street. Del Graham, manager and chef at Blackfriars Bar on the opposite side of the road, told the Highland News he and his wife stood outside their premises and watched the shocking scenes. He said: "They were singing, shouting and waving flags as well as putting them on cars that were driving up the street. "I watched as they aimed their kicks at passing cars before they basically blocked off the road – and this was only half time." He said trouble erupted again in the street after the final whistle of the match which Germany won 2-0. "As my wife and I were standing at the door a pint glass landed at our feet and smashed," said Mr Graham. "One of them had thrown it at a passing car. "Then someone walked over the road and attached a flag to a pole and then set it alight. These so-called fans were cheering and singing. Some of them were even filming the burning flag and each other as they carried on." Mr Graham hit out at the police for not reacting during the break when, he claimed, a sole squad car drove past the large group of rowdies and failed to talk to them. He said of the after-match drama: "One policeman appeared and stopped just before the crowd who greeted him with V-signs. He must have hit the panic button or something because soon there were 10 or 11 police vehicles. "If this was an Old Firm match I believe there would have been a heavier police presence from the start, but the police should have dealt with the problem far sooner than they did and cleared the bar at the first sign of trouble. Blackfriars Bar manager Del Graham points to a street sign which was damaged by Polish fans burning a German flag. Gary Anthony Mr Graham added: "The last thing Scotland needs is to import football thugs from abroad." Michael MacBean, the licensee of Deeno's Sports Bar, told the HN he was shocked by the behaviour of the supporters and stressed it was not repeated at the subsequent Poland matches. "We had around 200 Polish fans in the bar watching the game. After the match around half of them spilled on to the street. " That is when the trouble started and their antics became quite intimidating to passers by in cars and on foot." "I think it was a lot to do with the Polish player who plays for Germany and it appears to be hi-jinx which got out of hand. But it was certainly intimidating for the anyone caught in the middle of it." He has flags of many nationalities in his bar and confirmed it was his German one which was stolen by the Polish fans and set alight across the road. Northern Cosntabulary's Inverness area commander has issued a warning to the thugs that such behaviour will not be tolerated from anyone – regardless of nationality. Chief Inspector Julian Innes said: "Following the Poland v Germany match on June 8 there was a lot of trouble on Academy Street near to Deeno's Sports Bar. Police attended and the incident was dealt with very quickly. Five people were arrested for breach of the peace. "Once I realised the origin of the people involved, we had talks with leaders from the Polish community and our messages were relayed to the wider Polish community that we will not tolerate this kind of behaviour in Inverness regardless of where people are from. "I also took steps to have more police patrols on the beat last Friday for the Poland v Austria match and there was no trouble. "I want to stress to football fans that anyone behaving badly will be dealt with robustly." Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEDIGNITY 33,638 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 The famines over why don't they go home and takes these Polish bastards with them ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steely 58 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 The famines over why don't they go home and takes these Polish bastards with them ! That just doesn't make sense at all Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cumbria_blue 51 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 The hooligan problem is way out of hand in Poland, as is racism apparantly. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thermopylae 15,286 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Just emulating their ever so holy goalie Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEDIGNITY 33,638 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Presumably they were all deported? Naw there were all given free housin, with new furnishings and electrical equipment which was all duly sold to dealers out the back door. ! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chewbacca 8 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 bloodyhell, never heard a thing about this. Thats ashame, the sports bar isn't too far from centre of town, alot tourists must have seen the trouble. Hope they weren't left with a bad opinion. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Bear 7 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 So how long till we hear the first report that it was Rangers fans masquerading as Polish fans? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ricksen_da_best 2,034 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 Ohh there doing the Artur Boruc (8) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ulsterbear91 18 Posted June 19, 2008 Share Posted June 19, 2008 So Artur phoned up some of his mates at half time again did he? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts