73 Serbia fans detained at Estonia Euro 2012 match

Estonian police said yesterday they had detained 73 Serbia fans during the two nations’ Euro 2012 qualifier in the Baltic state’s capital Tallinn.

Police Major Einar Lillo told the Baltic News Service that the rowdy fans – a mixture of Serbs, Russians and Russian-speaking Estonian citizens – were arrested during Tuesday’s match, which ended 1-1.

“The police stopped the Serbia supporters’ provocative behaviour, staving off a potential risk increase,” Lillo said.

Some of the detainees were found to be in position of fireworks and blunt instruments, he added.

Away fans had been barred from the match, in line with a sanction slapped on Serbia by European football’s governing body UEFA after trouble during an October 12 away qualifier against Italy.

That match was delayed and then abandoned by the referee after just six minutes due to Serbia fans throwing flares onto the pitch and at Italy supporters, and was followed by clashes with police.

UEFA awarded Italy a 3-0 win, ordered Serbia to play two home matches in an empty stadium, and banned their fans from the remaining away games in their Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

The only exception was for the Serbian FA’s official match delegations – 70-strong in Tallinn’s A. Le Coq Arena.

Lillo criticised the delegation, noting that among the detained fans were individuals carrying invitations from the Serbian FA.

Enforcing a ban on locals who buy tickets but plan to support a visiting team can also be a headache.

Among those detained were pro-Serbia members of Estonia’s Russian-speaking community, which makes up around 300,000 of the Baltic republic’s 1.3 million people.

Many of its members have roots in the Soviet era – Estonia was ruled by Moscow from World War Two until the communist bloc’s 1991 demise – and a hardline section stresses ties with Russia and other Slavic nations such as Serbia.

“There was a politically incorrect banner that underlined the superiority of the Russian and Serbian peoples and their unity,” Lillo noted.