In Dortmund

First rain, then rioting before Turkey vs. Georgia

Helpers shovel water, hooligans cause riots.

(Bild: AFP, twitter, krone.at-mrgrafik)

Even before the kick-off of the European Championship match between Turkey and Georgia, the Dortmund stadium was already in disarray - first with rain from the sky, then with rioting in the stands.

The organizers worked at full speed to ensure that the match could go ahead despite the heavy rain, which was ultimately successful. Only the public viewing in the city ultimately fell victim to the storms.

Meanwhile, some chaotic individuals passed the time in the stadium with a mass brawl in the stands. The riot was apparently made possible by the lack of fan segregation. Many fans from both camps appear to have been given tickets for the neutral sectors of the stadium

(Bild: AFP or licensors)

(Bild: Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Wild scenes
Videos on social media show how the two fan camps attacked each other in the stands, even throwing objects at each other. It was only after a few minutes that a large contingent of police was able to quell the heated atmosphere.

You would have thought that the hooligans in the stands would have been cooled down by the torrential rain anyway.

European Championship newcomer
Incidentally, the debutant Georgians only got their ticket to the European Championship in a roundabout way and not least thanks to their good performances in the Nations League 2022/23. Victory in League C gave team boss Willy Sagnol's squad, runners-up in the 2006 World Cup with France, a place in the European Championship play-off, where they beat Luxembourg and then Greece in a penalty shoot-out. With just 8 points from 8 games, they were clearly left behind Spain, Scotland and Norway in the actual qualifiers.