What happened: A mass fight involving several dozen people took place on the quay of River Vardar in the vicinity of the national T-Arena. According to unofficial information of eye-witnesses, the fight took place between the fan groups of Vardar and Shkupi, immediately after the championship match took place in an empty stadium (due to the penalty imposed on Vardar by the Football Federation meaning that they must play in an empty stadium) and several people were hurt, while some were also detained. On the same night, according to information released by the MoI and published in the media, a group of young people, probably members of the fan club “Komiti”, revolted by the detention of their members who had violated the public order at the football match between FC “Vardar” and FC “Shkupi”, which took place at the “Philip 2” stadium in Skopje, organized in two groups, started stoning and throwing other heavy objects at the Police Station Center.
Date, time and location of the incident: 19 February, around 15:20, bank of River Vardar, Skopje.
Source of information: Electronic media outlet Press 24.mk
Victim(s) involved: 2 persons.
Type of crime(s): Violence (Article 386, CC), Bodily Injury (Article 130, CC), Participation in a Fight (Article 132, CC)
Perpetrator(s): A group of unknown number of fans from the FC Vardar’s and FC Shkupi’s fan clubs.
Brief description of the event with bias indicators: In this incident which took place immediately after a sports match, the bias motive is ethnicity, nationality or language, while the bias indicators are:
1. Difference in ethnicity – The members of the fan clubs of Vardar and Shkupi are of different ethnicity;
2. Time – the incident took place after a football match between the clubs Vardar and Shkupi whose fans/supporters are of different ethnicity;
3. Pattern of previous incidents – This incident was preceded by another incident on the same day, when two juveniles, most probably fans of FC Vardar were attacked by supporters of FC Shkupi.
Status of the case: Unknown
Response of the local authorities: The MoI’s response to the MHC request for public information regarding this incident stated that in connection to this criminal offence SIA Skopje submitted a written notification regarding the criminal act “Violence” punishable in accordance with Article 386 of the Criminal Code (KU.br.1743 / 17) to the Skopje Public Prosecutor’s Office.
Impact on the victim(s) and the community: These types of incidents call into question the safety in the country in general, the coexistence of different ethnic groups in the society and the safety of people attending or near sports matches.
