Football Violence

Euro 2012, is a football competition that pitches all European nations against each other.

The current competition is being hosted by Poland and Ukraine, which has caused some controversy. Poland has long been renowned for its football related violence, having one of the highest football related crime rates in Europe. Many worry that having such a large competition in Poland could be a recipe for disaster, and even though we are only a day into the competition, there has already been problems.

14 people have been arrested in Poland following a brawl over the Ireland vs Croatia match, which is yet to take place. Polish police have confirmed that 10 of the individuals arrested were polish and that the brawl included glass bottles and chairs being thrown.

My question is, who made the final call that resulted in Poland being chosen as a host nation? It has been well documented that football violence is rife in this country and why would this change for an international competition? The aforementioned brawl is not the only 'hiccup' so far, as Russian fans have been documented to have attacked stadium stewards during a game this week. Russians fans have also been accused of Racism. This all has occurred within the first week of the tournament and if occurrences like this continue, it could prove a disaster for Uefa.

Football fans by enlarge are peaceful and patriotic and simply enjoy watching the sport with the hope of there nation succeeding, but there are those who take this a step too far and decide to use violence. I am not accusing polish football fans of being violent, but you cannot deny that there are more football related violent incidents in Poland then in most other nations and i worry if letting Poland host the Euros was such a good decision.

Time will only tell if things get worse, but there are concerns that travelling supporters run the risk of being targeted by violent gangs while in Poland and this is something that must be addressed if the competition is to continue. The Euros is a fantastic opportunity for Poland and it would be a shame for the nation to be tarnished from violence.