Welcome to Poland: Croatian football fans beaten (VIDEO)
Polish fans have once again initiated violence at the Euro 2012 football championship, attacking a group of Croatian national team supporters in the city of Poznan after the latter played Italy to a 1-1 draw.
This is not the first time the Polish fans have shown inhospitable behavior. On Tuesday, 15 people were injured after Polish hooligans attacked thousands of Russian fans marching through the capital in the run-up to Poland’s match with Russia on the same day.Meanwhile, a Polish court has sentenced two Russian fans to two and three months behind bars respectively for taking part in the Tuesday brawl. Two Polish hooligans were also sentenced to three and five months each in jail on Thursday.Dozens of civilians and 17 police officers were injured on Tuesday. Some 25 Russians had turned up for medical help, and one of them remains in a hospital. Warsaw police eventually arrested 156 Polish fans, 25 Russians, a Spaniard, a Hungarian and an Algerian.Poland's Sports Minister Joanna Mucha said she is ashamed of the actions of the local football hooligans who attempted to disrupt the European Championship by attacking rival Russian fans. “I am outraged. I am ashamed for these people who came just to make trouble. It's certainly not the fans who cheer Poland. These are mere hooligans,” Mucha told Najważniejsze Wiadomości newspaper.Despite the fact that thousands of police officers were providing security in the streets, they failed to take control of the situation when the Polish hooligans attacked a march by 5,000 Russian football fans dedicated to Russia Day.
