Police successfully halted a large-scale altercation involving numerous Polish football enthusiasts in the Novojičín region on Wednesday evening. Acting on intelligence about an organized event, law enforcement officers headed to the village of Jistebnik, where vehicles sporting foreign license plates were arriving, and fans were disembarking, prepared for confrontation. Over 160 individuals were assessed by the officers, all en route to a brawl scheduled to occur in Slovakia on Thursday.

Pavla Jiroušková, a police spokesperson, informed the press on Thursday, stating, “Through operational means, our police officers ascertained the potential clash of football fans within our region.” According to reports, the fans were of Polish origin.

The provided information was substantiated, leading the police to the village of Jistebník in the Novojičín region on Wednesday afternoon. Here, they encountered vehicles with foreign license plates converging along dirt roads.

“As groups began assembling around their vehicles, donning attire emblematic of combat sports enthusiasts, the situation hinted at an impending physical altercation,” the spokesperson elaborated.

Immediate police response included riot units, foreign police, canine units, and units specializing in extremist activities.

“Subsequent investigation confirmed that the individuals were indeed fans en route to a football match in Slovakia. Thanks to the swift intervention of law enforcement, a clash among the fans was prevented,” Jiroušková remarked.

During the course of the operation, officers assessed a total of 168 individuals and examined 52 vehicles. Four individuals were apprehended, and another four, who appeared to lack identification, were required to visit the police station for identification purposes.

In Slovakia, a European Conference League qualifying match between the home team Spartak and Poland’s Lech Poznan is scheduled to take place in Trnava on Thursday, as reported by the Czech Press Agency. This incident underscores the importance of proactive law enforcement measures in maintaining public safety and preventing potential conflicts within the realm of sports-related events.

Article by Prague Forum