Europa League Attendee Dies After Violence
October 1, 2009 | Laura Carroll
European football teams highly discourage hooliganism, but sadly it still exists. Photo: France 24
A recent report in Reuters (elaborated by the New York Times) states the death of a French soccer fan due to severe injuries during Europa League, after a beating in a bar during the match between Partizan Belgrade and Toulouse.
Twenty-eight-year-old Brice Taton “sustained multiple injuries to his head and chest after a group of Partizan fans attacked him with iron bars and baseball bats in a central Belgrade bar on Sept 17,” the article says.
It is a real travesty that one would need to worry about being killed over a soccer match, and it brings to mind the precautions that must be taken while abroad, considering even a sporting event can at times be unsafe territory.
Having a competitive tennis player of a boyfriend, as well as an Italian ex who locked himself in the pub bathroom to cry when Italy took the World Cup in 2006 – I have some understanding of the male psyche when it comes to sports. But I have a very hard time wrapping my head around the idea that a person might actually be severely injured, if not killed, for supporting his or her team. Ending up hurt or with blood on your hands is no way to enjoy athletics, and though this is a tragedy not representative of all sports fans, it is a lesson in keeping a low profile even in the height of competition.
There are a few things that foreigners are discouraged from doing while abroad, like taking part in political rallies, for example (which, I must admit, is a rule I broke). In my opinion, over-involvement in sports fanaticism is one of them. This can be hard to resist of course – just as the political involvement was in my case. But, to be frank, Americans aren’t used to the hooliganism that sometimes takes place in European matches and I’m not sure some would know how to handle themselves, given that the trash talking that takes place during U.S. games is usually considered harmless.
So, the moral of this story is a bit like that of Francis’s in Death and Reality. Have fun, but be careful – even in seemingly harmless environments.
