2008 UEFA Qualifier Fan Attack

A fan attack occurred at the Euro 2008 qualifying Group F match between the national football teams of Sweden and Denmark, at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on 2 June 2007. A Danish supporter ran onto the pitch and attacked referee Herbert Fandel, after the referee had awarded Sweden a penalty in the 89th minute of the match and sent off Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen for punching Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg in the stomach.

The match was subsequently abandoned, and on 8 June 2007, UEFA held a hearing, awarding Sweden the match 3–0 and banning Poulsen for three competitive matches, and giving other punishments relating to Denmark international matches. The decision was appealed by the Danish Football Association and reduced on 5 July 2007. A CHF 100,000 (€66,000) fine was lowered to CHF 50,000; also, Denmark's two subsequent matches needed to be played at least from Copenhagen.

The match was the first ever UEFA qualifying fixture between rivals Sweden and Denmark, and the first time a UEFA championship qualifier or any qualifier was abandoned due to spectator interference.

Summary

Sweden were leading 3–0 after 26 minutes of the Group F game, but Denmark had fought back to 3–3 before the incident occurred.

Poulsen–Rosenberg incident

In the 89th minute, Denmark's Christian Poulsen and Sweden's Markus Rosenberg engaged in a tussle in the Danish penalty area; Rosenberg struck Poulsen, who in turn punched Rosenberg in the stomach. After conferring with his assistant referee, referee Fandel sent off Poulsen and awarded Sweden a penalty, which was never taken.

Fan attack

Seconds later, a Danish fan rushed onto the field and attacked the referee, grabbed his neck, but was intercepted by the Danish defender Michael Gravgaard shortly after. Immediately following this, Fandel and his officiating crew walked off the field, and Danish Football Association spokesman Lars Berendt within minutes announced Sweden was awarded a 3–0 victory. After both teams left the pitch a second Danish fan took the ball from the penalty spot and ran across the stadium before scoring in Sweden's empty net. Shortly before the announcement a third fan ran across the pitch.

Perpetrator

The attacker was identified as a 29-year-old Dane named Ronni Nörvig in German media (a transcription of his actual name, Ronni Nørvig), living and working in Gothenburg, Sweden. Publication of his name in Denmark was censored, due to a Danish court order. Prior to that, his full name and residential status was published in online edition of the Danish tabloid '' B.T.'', which, among other newspapers, ran an unprecedented petition asking the public for assistance to identify him. The Danish newspaper ''Ekstra Bladet'' has identified him by the initial "''R''", while other news media decided not to publish his name citing "the serious threat" against him.

Aftermath

UEFA action against Danish FA

The result was not confirmed until an investigation by UEFA's disciplinary committee was carried out. The hearing took place on 8 June 2007 to officially confirm whether the match should be forfeited 3–0 to Sweden as Lars Berendt previously stated. The Danish Football Association (DBU) suspended ticket sales for its next two European qualifiers at Parken Stadium pending UEFA's decision. It had already sold 18,200 tickets for 12 September match against Liechtenstein, but said it would reimburse fans if UEFA changed the venue.

On 8 June 2007, the hearing was held, afterward, they awarded Sweden a 3–0 win, fining Denmark CHF 100,000 (€66,000), plus the punishment that Denmark should play their next four home qualification matches (the rest of qualifiers) at least away from Copenhagen, with the next match against Liechtenstein behind closed doors. Poulsen was banned for three competitive matches.

The president of the Swedish Football Association, Lars-Åke Lagrell, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling calling it "a clear decision", adding that "there were no alternatives". The Danish FA immediately announced its intention to appeal. Jim Stjerne Hansen, secretary general of the DBU, said he was "shocked by the scope of the rulings", and that "It seems that they didn't look at the geography when they made their decision. Denmark is a small country."

Two of the three members of UEFA's disciplinary committee gave press interviews following the decision. Joël Wollf, General Secretary of the Luxembourg Football Federation and committee member, said:

The 250 kilometers were just to make sure that they would play away from Copenhagen. ..My opinion is that it should be made possible for these matches to be played in Denmark. I have not seen the ruling in writing, so I don't know what it says.

Rainer Koch, German member of UEFA's disciplinary committee:

Denmark can just play in Aalborg. They have a race track ''(sic)'' up there, don't they? ..Well I don't know the distances in Denmark. This will be a matter of a discussion.

The distance between Aalborg and Copenhagen is , thus it was not a viable option at the time. Aalborg Stadium does not feature a race track.

Final UEFA ruling

On 5 July 2007 UEFA released the following statement:

The Appeals Body replaced the original verdict of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body and its decision was final: Sweden were awarded a 3–0 win by default; the DBU was fined CHF50,000 (€30,222); and the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen was closed for four official competition matches involving the senior national team. From this third sanction, two games were deferred for a probationary period of two years. The world governing body FIFA was notified about the deferred sanction and the period of probation. In addition, the requirement to play the next two games at least from Copenhagen was reduced to .

Reactions

To the match in general

Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, criticized the behaviour of both Christian Poulsen and the fan who attacked the referee: "It was terrible and a very embarrassing behavior on the Danish side."

To Christian Poulsen's behaviour

Copenhagen police spokesperson chief inspector Flemming Steen Munch gave the following comment:

It is about time to set an example ... It has almost become acceptable to be violent on the pitch, but violence should not be accepted on the pitch or in society. The TV images clearly show how the Swede is punched in the stomach. My immediate opinion is that according to the penal code the act will lead to a 30-day imprisonment.

Copenhagen police chief superintendent Per Larsen later said that all comments of possible charges were premature. "Football is a contact sport, so the starting point is that the sport's own courts should handle this," Larsen told Danish news agency Ritzau. Munch noted that it was "unusual" for violence on the field or hockey rink to be tried in a court of law. See violence in ice hockey for some exceptions.

The Danish Justice Minister, Lene Espersen, called for an involuntary national team-hiatus to be given to Christian Poulsen.

To security at the Parken Stadium

The Parken Stadium was included in UEFA's list of 4-star stadiums in 1993, making it eligible for hosting UEFA Cup finals.

After the fan attack, the level of security at the stadium was questioned, and considered further by the UEFA disciplinary committee. An editorial in the Danish daily ''Jyllands-Posten

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