Slovak Police Press Charges against 4 Dutch and 3 Polish Hooligans

Bratislava, July 12 (TASR) - The Slovak police on Friday announced that they've pressed charges against seven people - four Dutch and three Polish nationals - for rioting in Bratislava related to European club football matches played in Slovakia earlier this week. Those charged have been put in police cells, with their cases due to be dealt with by courts via super-fast-tracked proceedings. At the same time the police have asked people who made video recordings of the riots to submit them to Bratislava I District Directorate of the Police Corps. On Wednesday evening, dozens of Cracovia Krakow, Ajax Amsterdam and Bulgarian Levski Sofia football fans engaged in a mass brawl on Venturska Street near St. Michael's Tower in the centre of Bratislava. The hooligans threw tables and chairs at each other and completely demolished the outdoor terraces of cafes and restaurants. Two explosions were even heard, sending passers-by fleeing for safety. Several people suffered injuries during the fighting, with nine people admitted into hospital. The police detained 107 individuals on the scene: 51 Bulgarians, 41 Poles and 15 Dutchmen. The Bulgarian fans came to Slovakia to attend a Europa League match in Ruzomberok in northern Slovakia on Thursday (won by Levski 2-0), while Polish team Cracovia Cracow were due to play in Dunajska Streda on the same day (tied 1-1). Meanwhile, Ajax Amsterdam weren't playing in Slovakia, and the Slovak police stated that their hooligans only seemed bent on disrupting a Champions League match between Slovan Bratislava and Sutjeska Niksic from Montenegro (0-0) on Wednesday. Ajax are in fact due to play a friendly match against Istanbul BB in Mittersill, a small Alpine town in Austria, on Sunday. bub/df