Freeze for around fifty Italian fans shortly before Italy-Albania in Dortmund. According to police information, the group of supporters was stopped before coming into contact with other Albanian fans near a restaurant.
The fans were found in possession of objects capable of offending, such as knives, paper bombs and balaclavas, they will be held in the German police offices, probably for 24 hours, awaiting evaluation by the judiciary.
In the afternoon, Albania fans had gathered at the old market and in the pedestrian area of Kampstraße, in the center of Dortmund, with the intention of heading towards the stadium about three kilometers away, specifies the website of the Bild newspaper. During the journey, around 50 “Italian hooligans tried to attack the Albanians, gathering about 200 meters away from the opposing fans at the Thier-Galerie”.
There they were discovered by plainclothes police officers who requested the intervention of colleagues in riot gear and a “large mobile van” to transport detainees and arrested people. An agent stated that the clash was avoided “by a hair’s breadth”: thanks to the rapid intervention of the police, the Albanians arrived at the match undisturbed, while the Italians were detained and will be “released only after the final whistle” , Bild predicts without specifying its sources. Even during the Hungary-Switzerland match in Cologne the police prevented clashes, reports Bild: despite the presence of around 600 Hungarian ultras classified as right-wing extremists in possession of smoke bombs, the procession of thousands of fans was peaceful thanks to the “strict surveillance” of the German agents. After the match, however, at least one Swiss was attacked by a Hungarian outside a McDonald’s near the stadium and had to be taken to hospital. (HANDLE)
