One player, interviewed by phone by a TV channel, said: "To hell with football if the situation is like this....Are people's lives that cheap?"
Before we in the United States jump to the conclusion that this could only happen in turmoil-filled North Africa, think again. In the past two years sports fan violence has spanned the globe, including the United States of America.
NORTH AMERICA
In my home town, Los Angeles, on March 31, 2011, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was brutally beaten by a couple of Los Angeles Dodgers fans. Stow was in a coma, and subsequently improved, but now requires six-days-a-week rehabilitation and around-the-clock care.
EUROPE
On June 6, 2010, the final game of the Greek Basket League finals between ancient rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos degenerated when hometown Olympiacos fans, incensed at perceived poor officiating in some of the previous playoff ames, rioted, forcing police to use tear gas, and award the game to Panathinaikos. The next time the two teams faced each other, on January 12, 2011, Olympiacos won, and Panathinaikos fans fired incendiaries.
SOUTH AMERICA
In South America, in June 2011, major violence broke out involving supporters of historic Argentine footbal club River Plate during and after their prootion/relegation playoff with Belgano. The first leg on June 22 in Cordoba wa delayed for 20 minutes after River Plate hooligans tore through a fence and stormed the field to verbally and physically attack River players. The second leg, on June 26 at El Monumental in Buenos Aires, had what was reported to be the largest security presence for any match in the country's history, with over 2,200 police called in. However, it wasn't enough to keep hooligans, angered at what became the club's first relegation from the top flight in their history, from rushing the field. Violence quickly spread with fires set in the stadium and battles erupting between hooligans and police, and looting in nearby areas. At least 35 police and 55 civilians were reported to have been injured.
ASIA
On August 18, 2011, another Chinese team, the Bayi Rockets of the Chinese Basketball Association, was involved in a major scuffle with the touring Georgetown University men's team. After three quarters of highly physical play from both sides, the game turned ugly with the teams tied at 64 with 9:32 remaining in the final quarter. At that point, both benches emptied and the teams began fighting one another. One Georgetown player had a chair thrown at him by an unidentified individual, with reports differing on whether he was hit. Another Georgetown player who had been struck during the brawl picked up a chair in apparent self-defense. As the brawl progressed, some fans joined in the action, with one wielding a stanchion. Hoyas coach John Thompson III pulled his team from the court; the team had to dodge water bottles and other objects thrown by fans, and one Georgetown fan was reportedly knocked to the ground by a thrown bottle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhaWtnUdkT4
AUSTRALIA
And in the land down under, in 2009, violence erupted at the Australian Open tennis championships when dozens fought after the big-screen viewing of the third-round match between the Serbian defending champion Novak Djokovic and Amir Delic, who plays for the United States but was born in Bosnia. Djokovic lost a set for the first time in the tournament and had to fend off two more set points in the fourth set befor beting Delic. But moments after the pair had embraced at the net and waved to all parts of the Rod Laver Arena, water bottles and plastic chairs were hurled between the Bosnian and Serbian fans who had been watching the match in a garden adjacent to the arena. Two men were arrested and another 30 were ejected after they began trading punches and kicks. One Bosnian woman was knoclkd out after being hit on the head by a chair.
