On 2 October 2011, the

Swiss Football League The Swiss Football League is the organization that controls and directs the professional football in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Founded in 1933 as the National League (in German ''Nationalliga'', in French ''Ligue Nationale''), it assumed it ...

game between

FC Zürich Fussballclub Zürich, commonly abbreviated to FC Zürich or simply FCZ, is a professional football club based in Zurich, Switzerland. The club was founded in 1896 and has won the Swiss Super League thirteen times and the Swiss Cup ten times. ...

and

Grasshopper Club Zürich Grasshopper Club Zurich (GCZ), commonly referred to as Grasshopper Club or simply just GC, is a professional sports club, multisports club based in Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland. They are nicknamed the ''Grasshoppers'' or sometimes just ''Hopper ...

(known as the

Zürich derby The Zürich derby () is a football match between rivals FC Zürich and Grasshopper Club Zurich. The two teams were founded in Zürich, Switzerland. Grasshopper in 1886 and FC Zürich in 1896. Grasshoppers are historically known as the club of th ...

) at

Letzigrund Stadium Letzigrund () is a stadium in Zurich, Switzerland, the home of the football clubs FC Zürich and Grasshopper Club Zürich, as well as the athletics club . The original stadium was constructed by members of FC Zürich in 1925. Grasshopper Club has ...

saw an incident of

football hooliganism Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves ...

. The game had to be abandoned with approximately 15 minutes of regular time to go. Also dubbed the "Disgrace of Zürich" () by Swiss media, this incident represented a second major episode of hooligan violence in Switzerland within five years, after a hooligan incident of similar significance occurred in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

in 2006.

Incident

During the 74th minute of the match, with Grasshopper Club Zürich leading 2-1, a masked FC Zürich fan threw a lit flare into the Grasshopper Club Zürich fan sector. No one was seriously injured at this stage. However, the incident incited a violent reaction from the Grasshopper Club Zürich fans. Several dozen masked Grasshopper Club Zürich fans rushed towards the fence separating the two groups and attempted to fight back with flagpoles. The referee was forced to abandon the match due to safety concerns. Six people were injured in the riot that ensued. FC Zürich was forced to forfeit the match with a 0-3 score and play their next derby match without any spectators. Both teams were also fined 50,000 Swiss Francs. Cause of the incident The FC Zürich fan's actions were reportedly a retaliation for an earlier provocation by Grasshopper Club Zürich fans. Earlier in the day, Grasshopper Club Zürich fans stole FC Zürich fan banners and displayed them with a message mocking FC Zürich. This act is considered a serious offense in

ultra Ultra may refer to: Science and technology * Ultra (cryptography), the codename for cryptographic intelligence obtained from signal traffic in World War II * Adobe Ultra, a vector-keying application * Sun Ultra series, a brand of computer work ...

fan culture.

Aftermath

The incident raised questions about how Switzerland deals with hooligan violence at matches with calls for enhanced security at Letzigrund Stadium. In its aftermath, several experts contrasted Switzerland's failure to deal with the problem, with England's ability to gain the upper hand in its struggle against hooliganism in the 1990s. The incident also made the news in Germany, with football commentary portal kicker.de featuring a story headlined "''The Disgrace of Zurich shocks Switzerland"''. In 2014, Reuters called it Switzerland's "most serious incident". The FC Zürich fan who threw the flare was eventually identified and sentenced to a 13-month suspended prison sentence and a 500 Swiss Franc fine. His initial sentence was a two-year suspended prison term, which he successfully appealed to the Swiss Supreme Court. Switzerland's highest court cancelled his two-year sentence and remanded the case back to the Zurich High Court which then gave him a lower sentence.

External links

Official Report from local Zurich television station (Youtube)

References

{{reflist Riots and civil disorder in Switzerland Association football hooliganism Grasshopper Club Zurich FC Zürich Association football riots 2011–12 in Swiss football