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Last Croatian champions Zagreb "Dinamo" fans had to leave from Lithuania's court. Three supporters who actively participated in Tuesday's UEFA Champions League second qualifying round match riots in Panevezys with the local team "Ekranas" stood before the Panevezys district court on Wednesday and were fined two hundred litas for hooliganism, writes the newspaper "Lietuvos rytas". It is unknown how and who started the fights before the match. However, one thing is clear - the Panevezys police was not properly prepared for the outbreak of violence. The skirmishes between 50 Lithuanians and about the same number of Croats were attempted to be stopped by 5-6 officers. There were too few officers - hooligans surrendered immediately when turned over on the ground, so the police officers had to rush to catch others. Meanwhile, the brawlers instantly jumped to their feet and ran towards their opponents through the same policemen. It was a pre-planned tactic of the Croats to pretend to calm down those who were overthrown, and to call for reinforcements to those who were in trouble. Several Croats managed to escape handcuffs because immediately ten assistants rushed in and pulled out a compatriot from the hands of the authorities. Although the officers managed to quell the riots before reinforcements arrived, hooligans changed tactics and began throwing stones, bottles, and burning torches. At the beginning of the match, Croatian passions flared up again briefly. This time, one soldier of the King Mindaugas Motorized Infantry Battalion, standing near the guest stand, spilled oil on the fire. After the "Ekranas" team scored a goal, the soldier turned to the Croatian stands and showed the middle finger. This gesture was quickly responded to - Croats attacked the police officers and soldiers watching the stands with burning torches, chunks of concrete, and broken benches. Taking advantage of the chaos in the stands due to the riots, one Croatian fan ran onto the field and the match was stopped, but soon resumed and the riots ended when reinforcements arrived at the stadium. We remind you that the Lithuanian champions lost the match 1-4 and practically have only theoretical chances to advance to the next round.
