Policeman hurt in clashes before Danube derby in Budapest

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - A policeman was injured when dozens of rival fans clashed in Budapest on Thursday night before the Euro 2016 Group F qualifier between Danube neighbours Hungary and Romania on Friday, police said.





Several police vehicles were damaged and 18 people were arrested, a police official told a news conference.

“Sixteen of them face charges for vandalism and two for assault on a police officer.”

Tickets for the Danube derby, as matches between Hungary and Romania are known, sold out in less than an hour. The match will be played at the 22,000-capacity Groupama Arena in Budapest.

The fixture has a long history of crowd violence and arrests have been rife in recent years.

A Romanian fan was detained just before leaving Bucharest for Hungary on Thursday for possessing 126 flares in the back of his car, Romanian police said.

Unbeaten Romania top Group F with 14 points from six matches followed by Northern Ireland on 13 and Hungary on 11.





(editing by Justin Palmer)


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters


Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world