Spanish football uneasy about presence of foreign ultras

While the national panorama is under control, The warning is usually activated when these radicals from foreign teams travel to any point in Spain.. Although international cooperation and control over ticket sales have managed to minimize violence, cases continue to occur periodically.

“Many people arrive without logging in. Another incentive to strengthen securityBecause arguments may occur. These are complex devices, but very few incidents occur,” explains an investigator from the General Information Commission (CGI) with experience in these radical groups in an interview with EFE.

the last ones, caused by one of the radical groups of Portuguese Benfica during the match against Real Sociedad Including, at the beginning of November, the launching of flares inside the stadium or the arrest of six Dutch ultras from Feyenoord for taking part in a fight in the VIP area of ​​the Metropolitan stadium.

The situation becomes even more complicated when ultra-diplomacy comes into play. international matchmaking and hostilities between factions. This is the case, for example, for the Atlético-Lazio match, which was “flagged in red” by Info agents because the streets were expected to be “hot” next Wednesday.

Reason? Atlético Front maintains good relations with the Curva Sud. AS Roma’s radical followers and Real Madrid’s Ultra Sur are allied with Ultras Lazio, historically known as ‘Irriducibili’.

“This will be by far the toughest match of the Atleti group because Ultras may come from Rome and Lazio They will come with the intention of causing trouble. “They will try to search for Madrid in any way possible,” the inspector said.

Underlines radicalsthey are part of a “dark world” A place where ideologies set the course but sporting rivalries and hatred rule. This is why members of Frente Atlético and Ultras Lazio are at odds with each other, despite being far-right.

from CGI They assume the Anti-Violence Commission will declare the match high risk A large police force will be deployed to control around 3,000 Lazio fans who have tickets for the match, as well as those traveling without tickets and radicals from the Curva Sud or Ultra South who may join the party.

Slight increase in arguments

Spanish ultras, a mass of approximately 10,000 people, “They are not causing public alarm at the moment.” The police officer said that although the number of violent incidents has increased in recent years, violent incidents still occur on national territory.

The last two seasons resulted in 80 and 87 fights respectivelyThere have been around twenty registrations so far this year, representing a “minor rebound”.

“But we can’t compare this to what’s happening in the rest of Europe. He is occasionally stabbed and killed. “Spain is one of the safest countries on the continent and in football,” he emphasized.

He assures that the reason for this is the Police, judges and League They are in the same ship: the ship of zero tolerance. “This is a hidden statistic, but we avoid fights almost every weekend,” he notes.

The rise of radical groups after the 1982 World Cup or the death of 13-year-old Guillermo Alfonso Lázaro, killed by the explosion in Sarriá in 1992, are far away. Young Real Sociedad fan Aitor Zabaleta was stabbed Around Vicente Calderón 25 years ago.

“The ultra movement itself is in declineBut we are not free from the possibility that some day, in any fight, we will encounter misfortune,” warns the police officer.

This refers to cases such as the case of Deportivo de La Coruña’s ultra Jimmy, who died in a fight against Atlético Front in 2014, or the fight between Numancia and Cornellá’s ultras on 27 May. One of those involved was in a coma for several months. These are isolated incidents but require close monitoring of radicals.

‘Dracas’, a distraction

A wooded area on the outskirts of Madrid, twelve against twelve. There are no weapons other than joints, and one movement lasts just over a minute. This is how the two radical factions of the Atlético Front and Feyenoord, Rotterdam Jongeren Kern and Firma FIIIR, faced off before their teams’ match at the beginning of October.

The police were aware of this ‘draca’ but there was little else they could do: An investigation cannot be made without a complaint.. However, coming from countries such as Poland or Russia, where the ultra scene is more successful, this does not worry the agents much.

“It’s fun for them, they’re not bands that hang around because they hate each other. There are very few in Spain and it is not something that worries us too much, but the day someone is seriously injured and reports it, appropriate measures will have to be taken to eliminate them,” the inspector concludes.