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Indoor football tournament called off after crowd violence
Jan 7, 2012, 14:35 GMT
Hamburg - Crowd violence forced organizers to call off an indoor football tournament that was supposed to be continued on Saturday.
Violence erupted on the stands between fans of fourth division VfB Luebeck and second division team St Pauli on Friday night, prompting organizers to call off the tournament.
Media reports said that 89 people were injured during the fighting, which erupted in the stands, but then moved outside the hall.
300 policemen took several hours to gain control of the situation with several being injured in the process.
Organizers said they believed the fighting was orchestrated. 'That was a criminal act, it was prepared. The hooligans were obviously informed ahead of the time,' Peter Sander said.
SV Hamburg turned down an invitation to participate in the tournament which was staged in the Alsterdorfer Sporthalle, citing security concerns.
A St Pauli spokesman said that their fans had not initiated the fighting. 'But we will not become involved in playing the blame-game,' Christian Boenig said.
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