A fan attack occurred at the Euro 2008 qualifying Group F match between the national football teams of Sweden and Denmark, at the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen on 2 June 2007. A Danish supporter ran onto the pitch and attacked referee Herbert Fandel, after the referee had awarded Sweden a penalty in the 89th minute of the match and sent off Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen for punching Swedish striker Markus Rosenberg in the stomach.

The match was subsequently abandoned, and on 8 June 2007, UEFA held a hearing, awarding Sweden the match 3–0 and banning Poulsen for three competitive matches, and giving other punishments relating to Denmark international matches. The decision was appealed by the Danish Football Association and reduced on 5 July 2007. A CHF 100,000 (€66,000) fine was lowered to CHF 50,000; also, Denmark's two subsequent matches needed to be played at least from Copenhagen.

The match was the first ever UEFA qualifying fixture between rivals Sweden and Denmark, and the first time a UEFA championship qualifier or any qualifier was abandoned due to spectator interference.

Summary

Sweden were leading 3–0 after 26 minutes of the Group F game, but Denmark had fought back to 3–3 before the incident occurred.

Poulsen–Rosenberg incident

In the 89th minute, Denmark's Christian Poulsen and Sweden's Markus Rosenberg engaged in a tussle in the Danish penalty area; Rosenberg struck Poulsen, who in turn punched Rosenberg in the stomach. After conferring with his assistant referee, referee Herbert Fandel sent off Poulsen and awarded Sweden a penalty, which was never taken.

Fan attack Seconds later, a Danish fan rushed onto the field and attacked the referee, grabbed his neck, but was intercepted by the Danish defender Michael Gravgaard shortly after. Immediately following this, Fandel and his officiating crew walked off the field, and Danish Football Association spokesman Lars Berendt within minutes announced Sweden was awarded a 3–0 victory. After both teams left the pitch a second Danish fan took the ball from the penalty spot and ran across the stadium before scoring in Sweden's empty net. Shortly before the announcement a third fan ran across the pitch.

Perpetrator

The attacker was identified as a 29-year-old Dane named Ronni Nörvig in German media (a transcription of his actual name, Ronni Nørvig), living and working in Gothenburg, Sweden.Nu berättar skandalsupportern Expressen, 3 June 2007. Publication of his name in Denmark was censored,"Förlåt, Sverige" Expressen, 3 June 2007. due to a Danish court order. Prior to that, his full name and residential status was published in online edition of the Danish tabloid B.T., which, among other newspapers, ran an unprecedented petition asking the public for assistance to identify him. The Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet has identified him by the initial "R", while other news media decided not to publish his name citing "the serious threat" against him.

Aftermath

UEFA action against Danish FA

The result was not confirmed until an investigation by UEFA's disciplinary committee was carried out. The hearing took place on 8 June 2007 to officially confirm whether the match should be forfeited 3–0 to Sweden as Lars Berendt previously stated. The Danish Football Association (DBU) suspended ticket sales for its next two European qualifiers at Parken Stadium pending UEFA's decision. It had already sold 18,200 tickets for 12 September match against Liechtenstein, but said it would reimburse fans if UEFA changed the venue.Press release The Danish Football Association, 4 June 2007.

On 8 June 2007, the hearing was held, afterward, they awarded Sweden a 3–0 win, fining Denmark CHF 100,000 (€66,000), plus the punishment that Denmark should play their next four home qualification matches (the rest of qualifiers) at least away from Copenhagen, with the next match against Liechtenstein behind closed doors. Poulsen was banned for three competitive matches.

The president of the Swedish Football Association, Lars-Åke Lagrell, expressed his satisfaction with the ruling calling it "a clear decision", adding that "there were no alternatives". The Danish FA immediately announced its intention to appeal. Jim Stjerne Hansen, secretary general of the DBU, said he was "shocked by the scope of the rulings", and that "It seems that they didn't look at the geography when they made their decision. Denmark is a small country."

Two of the three members of UEFA's disciplinary committee gave press interviews following the decision. Joël Wollf, General Secretary of the Luxembourg Football Federation and committee member, said:

The 250 kilometers were just to make sure that they would play away from Copenhagen. [...] My opinion is that it should be made possible for these matches to be played in Denmark. I have not seen the ruling in writing, so I don't know what it says.

Rainer Koch, German member of UEFA's disciplinary committee:

Denmark can just play in Aalborg. They have a race track (sic) up there, don't they? [...] Well I don't know the distances in Denmark. This will be a matter of a discussion.

The distance between Aalborg and Copenhagen is , thus it was not a viable option at the time. Aalborg Stadium does not feature a race track.

Final UEFA ruling On 5 July 2007 UEFA released the following statement:

The Appeals Body replaced the original verdict of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body and its decision was final: Sweden were awarded a 3–0 win by default; the DBU was fined CHF50,000 (€30,222); and the Parken Stadium in Copenhagen was closed for four official competition matches involving the senior national team. From this third sanction, two games were deferred for a probationary period of two years. The world governing body FIFA was notified about the deferred sanction and the period of probation. In addition, the requirement to play the next two games at least from Copenhagen was reduced to .

Reactions

To the match in general Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, criticized the behaviour of both Christian Poulsen and the fan who attacked the referee: "It was terrible and a very embarrassing behavior on the Danish side."

To Christian Poulsen's behaviour Copenhagen police spokesperson chief inspector Flemming Steen Munch gave the following comment:

It is about time to set an example ... It has almost become acceptable to be violent on the pitch, but violence should not be accepted on the pitch or in society. The TV images clearly show how the Swede is punched in the stomach. My immediate opinion is that according to the penal code the act will lead to a 30-day imprisonment.

Copenhagen police chief superintendent Per Larsen later said that all comments of possible charges were premature. "Football is a contact sport, so the starting point is that the sport's own courts should handle this," Larsen told Danish news agency Ritzau. Munch noted that it was "unusual" for violence on the field or hockey rink to be tried in a court of law.Poulsen faces possible charges over punch, apologizes DPA, 5 June 2007 See violence in ice hockey for some exceptions.

The Danish Justice Minister, Lene Espersen, called for an involuntary national team-hiatus to be given to Christian Poulsen.

To security at the Parken Stadium The Parken Stadium was included in UEFA's list of 4-star stadiums in 1993, making it eligible for hosting UEFA Cup finals.Welcome to Parken (about the stadium) Parken Stadium, official website.

After the fan attack, the level of security at the stadium was questioned, and considered further by the UEFA disciplinary committee. An editorial in the Danish daily Jyllands-Posten criticized the safety arrangements at Parken, saying it could have serious consequences for Denmark, but praised referee Fandel's decision to abandon the match.Set fra sidelinien: Den sorteste dag Christian Thye-Petersen, The Jyllands-Posten, 2 June 2007.

To the perpetrator The attacker stated in court that he was intoxicated by the consumption of alcohol, to a degree that he could not recall attacking the referee. The criminal court dealt out a suspended sentence of 30 days in prison. The prosecution appealed to the High Court of Eastern Denmark, which changed the sentence to 20 days, which had to be served."Fodboldtossen skal i fængsel", Danmarks Radio, 11-12-2007. Retrieved on 03-07-2008.

The DBU first decided to sue the man for commercial damage should Danish disqualification be confirmed.Tilskueren fra Parken er løsladt Ekstrabladet, 3 June 2007.

Parken Sport & Entertainment first announced its decision to sue the man for DKK 7,000,000 (€940,000) for loss of ticket sales, and the Danish FA will sue the 29-year-old for DKK 1,900,000 (€255,000)."DBU kræver 1,9 mio. fra "fan"", Danmarks Radio, 2007-08-31. Retrieved on 31 August 2007. That decision was later reverted on the advice of counsel. However, following the outcome of the criminal trial against the culprit, both Parken and Danish FA did go through with a lawsuit against him with those amounts.

Ultimately, only the DBU sued for just over DKK 1.6 million (€215,000). The verdict was given on 18 November 2009 in favour of the DBU, but only gave them DKK 900,000 (€120,000) because of the inadequate security at Parken., TV 2/Nyhederne, 2009-11-18. Retrieved on 21 November 2009. The FA said it was "very satisfied" with the verdict,Vigtig dom for dansk fodbold , Danish FA, 2009-11-20. Retrieved on 21 November 2009. while it reportedly "shocked" the perpetrator.Baneløber: Jeg har ikke pengene, TV 2/Nyhederne, 2009-11-18. Retrieved on 21 November 2009. Following the conviction, the perpetrator and the DBU reached an agreement in which the fine was lowered to DKK 250,000 (€35,000).Baneløber slipper med 250.000 kr., TV2/Nyhederne, 2012-01-20. Retrieved 30 March 2012.

Match

GK 1 Thomas SørensenRB 6 Lars JacobsenCB 4 Daniel AggerCB 3 Michael GravgaardLB 2 Christian Poulsen CM 5 Jan Kristiansen CM 7 Daniel Jensen RW 11Dennis RommedahlAM 8 Thomas Kahlenberg LW 10Martin JørgensenCF 9 Jon Dahl Tomasson (c)Substitutions:MF 12Leon Andreasen FW 19Nicklas Bendtner FW 15Jesper Grønkjær Manager:Morten Olsen GK 1 Andreas IsakssonRB 5 Niclas Alexandersson CB 3 Olof MellbergCB 4 Petter HanssonLB 2 Mikael NilssonRM 7 Christian WilhelmssonCM 6 Tobias Linderoth CM 8 Anders SvenssonLM 9 Freddie Ljungberg (c)SS 11Johan Elmander CF 10Marcus Allbäck Substitutions:FW 18Markus Rosenberg MF 16Kennedy Bakircioglu Manager:Lars Lagerbäck

Assistant referees: Carsten Kadach (Germany) Volker Wezel (Germany) Fourth official: Florian Meyer (Germany)Match rules 90 minutes. Maximum of three substitutions.

See also UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying Group F Denmark–Sweden football rivalry Roligan

Notes

References