News

Polish Eurovision fans attacked in the center of Belgrade

23. May 2008, 21:18

The incident happened on the night from Thursday, around three o'clock, when a group of hooligans attacked two Polish Eurovision fans, who were then taken to hospital with only superficial injuries. The Polish men were sitting in a fast food restaurant with two girlfriends, when all of a sudden, without having been provoked by other than by the accreditations for the Eurovision song contest the group of hooligans approached them and started hitting them. As if that had not been enough, the poor Polish boys were encountered with yet another embarrassing situation: when the taxi driver heard where they were from, he locked the door on the taxi and started screaming and yelling at the men saying how they had had the face to come to Serbia after their country had acknowledged Kosovo.

The RTS, shocked by the recent events, offered to pay the Polish fans their stay at the hotel 'Continental'.

The said hooligans had been speaking and bragging about their intention to perform such actions for several weeks but this was the first unpleasant situation. According to our sources, last night in front of the Belgrade Arena another fight happened; this one between the Greeks and the Macedonians. In the Euroclub, a Finish man, visibly drunk, fell down the stairs and broke his arm. He then started provoking the Serbs at which point, some Slovenians got involved trying to calm the situation. The whole thing ended with the police intervention.

Two unpleasant things happened to me as well, the reason: I am a Croat. First, the man working in the Arena wouldn't serve me because he saw the Croatian flag, and after that, in the Euroclub, two (non-accredited) Serbs tried to provoke me by yelling 'Ustašo! Ustašo!'.

I have already received numerous apologies from the organizers. They also insist on warning the persons in question so that they could bear the consequences! Personally, I feel obliged to explain how the entire organization was more than wonderful, and that all us Croats have been welcomed and treated most positively. The primitivism of three individuals will not outshine the hospitality of all others.

I hope that the other two evenings go by without incidents, and that we will be able to take home with us nothing but good memories of Belgrade!