Police fear chaos during high-risk match: “We are prepared”

With the scenes of chaos from the Stockholm derby last weekend, a new high-risk match awaits when Malmö FF host IFK Gothenburg on Monday.
Information indicates that there may be new supporter chaos.
– We are prepared, says Mats Karlsson, commander of the Police Region South, in Nyhetsmorgon.

Last Sunday, the Police in Stockholm withdrew the permit after supporters disrupted the match with bang shots and fireworks. And the match was called off.

Olof Lundh, editor-in-chief of Fotbollskanalen, thinks it is wrong that the debate was mainly about the police’s decision and calls for more civil courage.

– I’m tired of people saying that it’s a few supporters who throw in hard shots. When they stand in a large grandstand section, it is not a few. You are more or less indirectly involved when you stand next to them. It’s a problem.

Fear of new chaos

Malmö FF win SM gold at home against rival IFK Gothenburg. Reports suggest that supporters may want to disrupt the match to prevent an MFF gold celebration.

– We have taken part in such information that is discussed on various social forums about various disorders. So we relate to that and make ongoing assessments. The two clubs have also taken note of this information, says Mats Karlsson, commanding officer of the Police region south.

He believes that they are well prepared for any disruptions.

– We have handled a large number of matches together with the organizers. You do this together. We have a pre-meeting with delegates from football and the clubs. We go through and condition what we see as minimum requirements.

Why don’t you go into the stands and arrest the people who mess up?

– In most cases, the risk of injury to enter a stand, which is usually built like a staircase, would be too high. So you refrain from doing it unless there is really a reason for it.

We see new laws

Olof Lundh thinks politicians think a lot about the subject, but do very little.

– But the law is such that if you light a bengal, it’s like stealing. This is a signal to the police that it is not a particularly important or serious crime. So if you want to take this seriously, you have to raise the penalties for it, he says, adding:

– Now the politicians have appointed an investigation – we’ll see if it leads anywhere.