Croatian security expert 'recommended strong police presence'

The authorities had been advised to beef up security at the Ta' Qali national stadium before the Croatia-Malta World Cup qualifier which ended in mayhem on Wednesday night.

Speaking to The Times yesterday, Croatian Football Federation security commissioner Zoran Cvrk said that at a pre-match technical meeting on Wednesday morning he had warned of the danger that the Croatian spectators could invade the pitch at the end of the game.

He said he therefore advised the Maltese authorities "to double the number of police officers at the stadium".

Croatian supporters threw seats towards the VIP area, injuring a number of spectators and policemen, following the unexpected 1-1 draw, which could dent Croatia's chances of direct qualification for the 2006 World Cup finals.

Every police officer available was then called to the scene, including those from the traffic and mobile squads, the criminal investigation department and the special assignment group, to assist what police sources said were only about 15 police officers originally detailed at the stadium.

Questions on whether Mr Cvrk's suggestions had been heeded were sent to the police but no answer was forthcoming at the time of writing.

The technical meeting was attended by representatives of the police, the Malta Football Association and FIFA officials, who have the last say on whether a match is to be played or not depending on a number of factors including the level of security.

"When I asked for the number of policemen there would be for the match, the authorities did not give me numbers but an assurance there would be enough officers," Mr Cvrk said.

He said he also shared a database of the supporters with the authorities for security purposes.

He admitted that the Croatian supporters were to blame for the fracas but added that it was "not professional" of the Maltese policemen to react to the provocation in kind.

The small number of policemen inside the stadium were heavily outnumbered by the 500 visiting supporters and they only managed to restore order after a 45-minute battle when the additional officers were drafted in.

An MFA spokesman said the stadium authorities usually rely on the police for the number of officers to be deployed in a particular match. He added that on paper the match was not considered to be "high risk".

The spokesman said the Maltese spectators were luckily situated on the millennium stand, a distance away from the Croatian supporters.

"Maltese spectators in the VIP stand were urging each other not to react to the provocations," he said.

A total of 103 Croats were arraigned on Thursday in connection with the incidents. Most of the 95 that pleaded guilty left Malta between Thursday night and yesterday morning. They were given a seven-month suspended jail term .

The eight who pleaded not guilty will have their case heard in the coming days.

The Croatian ambassador to Malta, who is based in Rome, felt compelled to turn up in person to apologise to Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea yesterday for his countrymen's behaviour.

Mr Galea is nursing some stitches to the back of his head after he was hit by a seat hurled by a Croatian hooligan.

The minister, an avid supporter of the Maltese national team, described the way a section of Croatian supporters turned ferocious at the final whistle. "The Croatians behaved normally throughout the match - they were cheering and egging their team on. But I'm assuming the Croatians found out that Sweden scored in the last second against Hungary which meant they leapfrogged them into first place," he told The Times.

All hell broke loose at the final whistle and a shower of chairs was hurled from the Croatian side to the VIP area. The fact that there was initially only handful of policemen on the Croatian side did not help, Mr Galea said.

"You have to keep your calm at that point in time and priority was given to children and women to rush out of the VIP area. Sadly, there was a small group of supporters that decided to ruin the joy of the Maltese. Unfortunately, these things will always happen."

MFA president Joe Mifsud said it was too early to know what kind of punitive action, if any, will be taken against the Croatian team by FIFA.

"We are not expecting anything out of the ordinary but at least we have to be compensated for the damage to the stadium. It's been a number of years since there was a similar fracas," he said.

Questions sent to the FIFA disciplinary committee yesterday probing the possible repercussions on the Croatian team remained unanswered by the time of going to press. A FIFA delegate visited the stadium on Thursday morning to assess the damage.

Dr Mifsud said he expected the cost of the damage to run into thousands of liri.

Besides dimming Croatia's prospects of qualifying directly for the World Cup finals, its chances of co-staging the European Championship in 2012 were also greatly diminished, according to the newspaper Jutarnji List.

The Ta' Qali stadium was often turned into a battleground in the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially during the infamous Hamrun versus Valletta clashes.

Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic said the behaviour of the fans rounded off a miserable night for his team. "I think those who instigated it were drunk. It was a negative night in every respect," he was quoted as saying by Agence France Press.