Soccer on All Saints' Day

While families made their yearly pilgrimage to cemeteries to place flowers on the graves of relatives about five hundred Hungarian soccer fans went to the southern Slovak town of Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely) to create trouble.  The town, situated fairly close to the Slovak-Hungarian border, is predominantly Hungarian. Of the 23,000 inhabitants the Slovak population is no more than about 3,000.

The soccer match between Slovan Bratislava and the locals was unlikely to be a nailbiter. But the stadium, seating 10,000, was filled. One thousand people came from Bratislava and there was a contingent of 500 from Hungary. The Slovak police must have known that trouble was brewing because about 1,000 policemen were ordered to the scene. The police led the three groups to the stadium along different routes. There was a route for the locals, another for people from Bratislava, and still another for the Hungarian visitors. The Bratislava group was attacked en route: rocks were thrown at them. Some people were arrested at that junction.

The Hungarians called attention to themselves by displaying signs saying: Perseverence (Kitartás). Unfortunately that was the customary greeting of Hungarian Nazis in the late 30's and 40's. The stadium was full about an hour before kickoff, and the two sides spent the time screaming obscenities at each other. Just before the match began the locals and the Hungarian visitors sang the Hungarian national anthem. At last play started, but after eighteen minutes the referee had to stop the match because the people from Bratislava threw a smoke bomb onto the field. According to the reporter of the Hungarian newspaper, Népszabadság, the police didn't do anything to the Bratislava crowd but attacked the locals and the Hungarian visitors. Perhaps the reason was the flags that the Hungarians displayed. On one of them at least one can clearly see the map of historical Greater Hungary. (Here is the picture.)  Now, surely, whoever takes along a flag like that to Slovakia is looking for trouble. If the locals and the Hungarian visitors sang the Hungarian national anthem at the beginning, after the Bratislava team won it was time to sing the Slovak anthem by the visitors from Bratislava.

I think that this episode on All Saints' Day tells a lot about Slovak-Hungarian relations. More than that, it tells a lot about the relation between the Slovaks and Slovakia's Hungarian minority. There is every reason to be worried.

Comments

[Kike like you]

People should put these things on perspective. Footie has always had their share of hooligans, skinheads and associated troublemakers. Most of these guys show off pretty dumb behaviour and all kind of nationalist, nazi etc crap. But make the difference: They are just guys who want to get drunk and smash something, without much thought for anything more politically coherent. While they can make some nice demonstration/riot pictures and video footage, they are no political force to think of. Jobbik & MÍEP have tried to "harvest" these forces into their fold, but without much success. If you want to get votes, drunk skinheads running rampage on the streets (with your party colours) is not exactly election winning idea.

[Odin's lost eye]

Mr Kike like you, I would take issue with you. You say *** “They are just guys who want to get drunk and smash something, without much thought for anything more politically coherent.” ***. To my mind there must have been someone with the ability to organize a visit by some 500 odd nurks who may have just been there for a good old fashioned ‘punch up’. If you think about it someone must have known who to contact, how to raise funds, these things cost money. Bus and rail fares, food and above all booze are not cheap. You also say *** “If you want to get votes, drunk skinheads running rampage on the streets (with your party colours) is not exactly election winning idea.” ***. It can be if it deters your political opponents from campaigning at a low (local) level. Such work such as the door-to-door canvas is vitally important to find out where your support lies when it becomes time to ‘get the voters out’. Such use of intimidation has been very successful even in so called ‘civilised’ societies. One town, where I used to lived, one minor party used 9 to 12 year olds in a campaign of breaking the windows houses which displayed posters for one larger parties this turned that party's stronghold into a no vote area. Canvassers were also given a rough time by slightly older thugletts.

[Viking]

There are organised fan-trips and they were used on this occasion, like Fradi supporters went with 1 or 2 buses. I assume that Ujpest did the same thing. These 2 supporter groups hard-core are the ones we see out roaming the streets when there is a riot lurching.

Jobbik has tried to control these groups, but my belief is that they have failed in that. They are more relying on moral support from HVIM. I would assume that many people are in both organisations and were active when HVIM made their tours around the 'Provinces' before, to stir up troubles.

Jobbik would like to take credit for the 2006 riots, but that was also more HVIM in 'control'. Jobbik was surprised and had to run after HVIM like a tail to a dog.

Both Kike and Odin makes good points:
You will not win the popular vote associating thugs, but thugs can scare the majority from voting.
The latter is probably valid on a local scene though, as Odin's example.

[All Saints]

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[All Saints]

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