KuPS and HJK fans caused a dangerous situation in Kuopio by waving torches, but the situation calmed down quickly. The police announced one arrest.
Kuopio Palloseura celebrates the well-deserved Finnish championship. A 1–0 win over HJK was enough to secure the championship.
A mild phenomenon was also seen at the championship celebration. Although there wasn’t a huge rush onto the pitch, quite a few KuPS supporters came to the green to celebrate the final whistle.
KuPS supporters also waved in the direction of the HJK stand. HJK fans, on the other hand, tried to knock down fences around them, and at least one fence flew to the edge of the field.
In addition, at least a torch flew onto the field from the HJK stand, which in turn was thrown from the field back to the stand.
Eastern Finland Police Department has informed about the situation.
– From the police’s point of view, the match was reasonably peaceful.
– After KuPS’ first goal, a small group of HJK supporters behaved restlessly. In addition, after the end of the match, a small group of supporters of both teams threw burning torches from side to side, which caused individual dangerous situations.
The police say that, based on preliminary investigations, injuries and major property damage were avoided.
– The police arrested one person to protect against crimes and disturbances. After the match, the celebration continued without problems and in good spirits.
In ‘s commentary, the situation after the match heated up emotions.
– Torches fly from the HJK supporter’s end onto the field, and the KuPS supporters on the field blow them back. The event supervisors have the job under control. Now the torch will fly here among other supporters. Yes, there is a lot going on here, narrator Matti Härkönen reports.
After that, the TV pictures showed how a few KuPS supporters who were on the side of the field went in front of the HJK viewing section to provoke.
– I wouldn’t want to draw attention, but idiotic provocation from a few Kuopio supporters. Even in fandom from the understyle. You could leave it alone for now, ‘s expert Henry Aalto got frustrated.
– Yes, I understand, provocation in football and fan activities is part of it up to a certain point. But everything has its limits when the safety of other people starts to be put to the test. This should be a community celebration, a great, beautiful moment. Let’s keep that focus there, Aalto said.