The chairman and general manager of Slask Wroclaw, Poitr Wasniewski, has apologised to the city of Dundee for the trouble caused by some fans of the Polish football team before and after Thursday night’s Europa League qualifier with Dundee United.
But he insisted that the sheer number of fans who came to the game unannounced many of them from the large Polish community across the UK meant it was almost impossible to police the gathering of around 2000.
The official said he had seen some trouble in town before the game, but was not aware of reports of any late-night fighting.
“The alcohol was the biggest reason,” said Mr Wasniewski. “From what I have seen, many of them weren’t really fans of Wroclaw. They have come from all over Britain to meet friends and many of them couldn’t wait for the game and drank much too much.
“Absolutely, I want to apologise for anyone who makes any kind of trouble in Dundee. People who came with the organised group from the club were under control but there were so many people without our knowledge who were buying tickets in Dundee and it was very hard to take control of it.”
But he said he had also been a victim of the Poles’ bad reputation after he was refused service in a city centre restaurant long before any trouble had begun.
“We come and support my team and we come to have a good time,” Mr Wasniewski added. “Some have been travelling for 37 hours to come to the game and support the team. There were a group of irresponsible people that caused damage and spoilt the image of the real supporters of our team.
“People are coming not to support the team but to make problems and trouble and to fight against other supporters.”
In one of a number of potentially violent flashpoints in the lead-up to the game, hundreds of Polish fans many hooded, with scarves pulled across their faces broke police lines and charged down a city centre street.
Pockets of Slask fans had been in the town all afternoon and chanting and singing could be heard from groups congregated outside a number of bars.
But the atmosphere turned nasty as a stand-off developed between locals and Polish fans. The incident quickly intensified and police officers rushed in to prevent any trouble.
However, fans in green and black hoodies and some wearing outfits from other Polish teams, including Lechia Gdansk and Wisla Krakow, with their hoods up and faces covered, rushed the officers’ lines before charging down Reform Street. Shops closed their doors and kept their staff inside, while members of the public scattered.
Police reinforcements, wearing heavy protective gear, arrived quickly at the scene and the hordes of Polish fans receded. Then, led by a loudhailer, hundreds began their march to the game, singing and chanting as they went. Fans walked a dozen abreast down the High Street and the Murraygate, sending pedestrians with pushchairs scuttling for cover and leaving flares and fireworks scattered behind them.
A huge boom echoed out as a banger went off outside the Wellgate Centre, before fans began to climb King Street on their way to the match.
During the afternoon officers were seen to remove alcohol from a number of supporters, pouring it away. But many others continued to drink in the streets as police adopted a policy of containment.
Most pubs in Dundee city centre shut for a period before the game and closed their doors early on Thursday night, while Fat Sams and Liquid nightclubs’ management decided not to open at all, after advice from Tayside Police.
Most city centre establishments remained unscathed after the match and Chief Inspector Dave Barclay said that side of operations had been a success.
“We had to try and keep the Slask fans in certain areas and restrict where they were going,” he said. “I know there had been some challenges for nightclub staff the first night.”
Another side to the Polish fans’ behaviour came from Athole Steele, manager of the Arctic Bar.
He said, “We had about 60 of them before the match and about 25 to 30 of them came back after the match. They were up doing the karaoke and singing happy birthday to one of my customers.
“They were no bother whatsoever which just shows there’s two sides to every story.”