April 1, 2018
A football match between Olimpija (Ljubljana) and Maribor on Saturday night ended with a 1:1 draw. Both clubs, and especially their fan clubs, namely Green Dragons of Ljubljana and Viole of Maribor, are notorious for their violent clashes and other forms of misbehaviour inside and outside sports events.
Six police officers were injured by the fans of both sides in a similar event last year, which prompted the police this year to tighten security controls in and outside the event, including Ljubljana downtown, where fans usually gather before they head towards Stožice stadium.
This means that a helicopter, security cameras and a large number of riot police had their eyes on the surroundings of the venue in Stožice and bars of Ljubljana centre, which allowed them to eventually prevent a clash between two groups of violent fans, which gathered downtown at about 6pm on Saturday for this very purpose.
In a movie-like situation, with an entire Ilirska street being packed with police vehicles and riot officers in full combat gear while a helicopter hovered above everyone’s heads, 56 people were eventually apprehended and the great fight drama was prevented.
We were there and this is what we filmed.
