GC fans accuse police of siege after derby

On Saturday night, 591 GC fans were arrested and checked by police on their way to Derby. A father of the family spoke to Watson about his experience and made accusations against authorities and politicians.

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As far as football is concerned, Saturday night's derby will soon be known. Zurich, who took the lead in the first minute of the game, and Grasshoppers, who equalized before half-time, drew 1-1 after a poor kick from Lezigrund. What happened on the sidelines made more headlines.

The stadium remained quiet for much of the first half. One corner was almost deserted as GC fans were surrounded by police during the parade. South Curve, on the other hand, showed solidarity with the opposing fans, remaining supportive until halftime.

“This is a big scandal,” GC captain Amir Abrahi fumed after the game over the police's use of the SRF microphone. “It's an outrage! Once again it's not good for us and our fans, who want to do it week in and week out.” Come here week in and day out and they won’t let them in. In fact, we have one less person here.”

The 34-year-old player must have spoken out the sentiments of many GC fans. Among them, Martin Huber* attended Saturday's fan parade and told Watson about the incident. The fan parade starts at Turbinenplatz and crosses the Duttweiler Bridge to the stadium. Joseph Weiss' usual gathering spot was banned by police after FCZ fans also announced they wanted to gather there.

^{*(Name has been changed)}

However, fans were surrounded by police on Dutweiler Bridge. «I and other fans were very surprised. It was neither offensive nor did it cause any significant damage to property,” reported Huber, who was far behind. As a result, all GC fans were individually inspected and searched – including children. With other fans (some of whom were detained Compared to missing the game by several hours), Huber left the field relatively quickly and arrived in time for the game to start.

“Of course, it doesn't reflect well on the police if minors are frisked and searched without any action being taken,” Huber explained. He made it clear: “But you shouldn't blame the police. They were just doing their job.” Huber, on the other hand, criticized those who gave the order.

Zurich city police justified their intervention by setting off a dozen firecrackers from GC fans. A statement from the city said: “Since more than a hundred of these firecrackers were set off by GC fans at the last derby, posing a significant risk to health, it must be assumed that further incidents of dangerous firecrackers may occur along further parade routes. explode.” .

Huber suspects this is an excuse: “I feel like this operation was planned. They were just waiting for the firecrackers to go off so they could intervene.” Otherwise, this parade was fairly quiet compared to previous fan parades, And there was already a portable toilet, which led him to make this assumption.

This is also the view of canton Aargau lawyer Simon Käch, who is suing the managers of the police operation, the officers involved and any senior officials or authorities who approved the operation. The complaint contains multiple allegations of abuse of power, repeated deprivation of liberty and coercion. In the letter to the Zurich-Siel prosecutor's office, which was obtained by CH Media, Käch wrote that the location was not chosen randomly and required large-scale and organized logistics. For this lawyer, who is also a GC fan, it is obvious that this must not be a spontaneous decision by the operating management, but a long-term and carefully planned action.

Lawyer Simon Käch filed a complaint against the Zurich city police.Bild: https://kaech-law.ch/

Huber believes that in this way, police can “build a reputation for themselves and show that they have done something again.” At Watson's request, the city police explained: “Inspections of fan parades must be planned and prepared and, for personnel and material reasons, cannot be carried out on an ad hoc basis or only in extreme emergencies.”

During searches of 591 fans, coverings and pyrotechnic materials were seized. Images released by city police also showed two bayonets and several canisters of pepper spray.

Huber said that in his opinion there was no reason to bring knives to football matches, but that some weapons might be found when 600 people were searched at Stadelhofen train station or Langstrasse on Saturday night. “It pisses me off that they would tear up a GC fans parade and then pull out a few knives and gravel and pretend they had the 'right stuff'.”

The materials were seized during the search.Image source: Zurich City Police

The fact that FCZ fans simultaneously marched from the Klingenpark (also the traditional GC area in District 5) to the stadium via Langstrasse and were largely unmolested by the police was seen as “a mockery”, according to Huber. “When you see videos of explosions that are louder than ours, you have to say the same standards are not applied,” said the GC supporter, who suspected: “It would certainly be easier to stop Grasshoppers fans from marching than FCZ.”

City police wrote that at FCZ, only six firecrackers were set off throughout the parade, while at GC, more firecrackers were set off at the beginning. She also explained: “The behavior of FC Zurich fans has also been recorded and if an increase in the use of these extremely dangerous firecrackers is found again in the future, the police will also take appropriate measures against FC Zurich fans.”

However, what irritates Huber the most is that, in his opinion, stopping the fan parade does not solve the actual problem in any way, but is just an “alibi measure.”

Unlike the guest area, Zurich's southern curve has been filled in.Image: trapezoid

The larger problem Huber refers to is the escalation of violence in recent years, which is no longer limited to Derby and the surrounding areas of the stadium, but has long spread to the entire city and beyond. For example, FCZ fans vandalized the GC stand in Züri Fäscht and attacked Grasshoppers fans in Wiesendangen Chilbi.

Huber said: “Of course there are idiots in GC, but most of the violence comes from FCZ fans. For them, GC should not exist as a second club in the city.”

You can no longer risk being attacked in this city to express your gratitude as a GC fan. Huber no longer brings fan belongings to derbies because people are sometimes asked to open their jackets or empty their pockets. “If you're wearing a GC scarf or sweatshirt, that's a problem,” Huber said. Even at home games where the football club is not involved, he hides the scarf until he enters the stadium.

The father-of-two spoke of the “structural violence in everyday life” and explained that he was constantly worried about his children: “Being a FCZ fan, you have to be very careful. There are threats in school, things are stolen. You never Not knowing what to expect. Too little is being done, and police sometimes blame victims for violence, Huber said. After being attacked by a group of young men at the police station, one of his colleagues was almost the first to be asked if he was wearing GC fan gear, as South Curve was active in the area. “This shows that this is not an isolated case,” Huber said. That's why incidents like Saturday's make him angrier.

Huber believes that politicians and police are to some extent afraid of organized Zurich fans, which is why they let them do whatever they want, while GC supporters are treated in a more repressive manner. Huber said that by preventing fans from marching, politicians were drawing the wrong conclusion, saying it was symbolic politics “to look better in public perception.”

For Huber, there is no doubt that he will also be involved in Tuesday night's Cup last-16 derby. “I love watching football, you have to show your true colors!”