Part of the hard core of Antwerp took to the police the frustrations after the lost Conference League match against Basaksehir on Thursday evening. Two police officers had to be taken to hospital. During the clashes, many ordinary supporters of the family gallery also received the full brunt of the police.
jtp, pavi, dikes
It was not a memorable evening at the Bosuil Thursday. The Turkish Basaksehir eliminated the Great Old after a 1-3 win for a place in the group stage of the Conference League.
Shortly before the end of the match, about a hundred amok from the hard core on the stands of Tribune 4 had already left the stadium. They wanted to get a story from the visiting supporters on the other side of the field, who provoked the Antwerp fans before and during the game. “On the Oude Bosuilbaan, at the visitors’ stand, there was a confrontation with our teams who had to steer the flow of supporters in the right direction,” said spokesman Willem Migom of the Antwerp police.
One female officer was injured in the knee. “The mobile unit quickly arrived on site to relieve the problem seekers in the direction of Jan Welterslaan,” says Migom. The police used water cannons and tear gas bombs were thrown. A second police officer was injured in the riot. Both police officers had to be taken to hospital. The woman is incapacitated for work for several days.
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crying children
Not only troublemakers, but also ordinary Antwerp supporters who came from the family stand apparently shared the blow. “I have been coming to Antwerp for 47 years and have a subscription to the family gallery with my daughters aged 13 and 15,” says Danny Verstraeten from Pulle. “But I had never seen how boldly the cops flew in after the match.”
The Antwerp fans from the family grandstand were no longer allowed to enter the Oude Bosuilbaan in the direction of the roundabout because the frustrated hooligans were pounding on the gate of the Turkish visitors. “The police then charged on horseback, sprayed lavishly with pepper spray and knocked with the matrak, also on brave supporters who were just trying to go home with their children, like I did with my daughters. I saw crying children, bloodied faces. It was a big shame. The police brutality was disproportionate.”
Camera images
The fuss at the family gallery probably came about when the police tried to nip a second conflict in the bud. Some of the fighters wanted to attack the riot police from the back, but they could just avoid that plan. “Three people were arrested, one of them judicially,” said Migom. More arrests may follow, the police started an investigation and are looking at the available camera images in and outside the stadium.
The fuss ensured that the visiting supporters, including many Belgian and Dutch-Turks, were only allowed to leave the Bosuil Stadium under supervision after midnight. That didn’t bother them much, after the victory and the European qualification the party – unfortunately for Antwerp – had already started for a long time.
