Football fans in Poland suffering from big repression before Euro2012.

Euro2012 is coming to Poland and supporters there these days suffer from big repression. Away matches got forbidden, some stadiums closed, and fans are getting banned for stupid reasons. Our Polish moderator wrote this text to explain current situation in Poland football. Ultras-Tifo gives full support to all fans in Poland! Against Modern Football!

Political power

To explain situation of Polish fans today I should write a book… but even in short I have to begin from presentation of political and economic situation in Poland. On 10.04.2010 in tragedy in Smolensk where crashed airplane died Polish President Lech Kaczynski, his wife, many politicians and other important people from elite, after few months all power in Poland took one political party – Platforma Obywatelska (PO). Till today nobody knows why airplane crashed in Russia but Polish and Russian government don’t care. So Polish prime minister is Donald Tusk from PO, President is Bronislaw Komorowski from PO, 90% regional presidents and presidents of biggest city in Poland are from PO, in Warsaw president is Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz from PO. All police commanders, prosecutors, army and other special services (CBS, CBA, ABW) are in hands of one political power.
Because of that Polish society is under surveillance more than in other European countries. Statistics say that in Poland 1300 000 people have phone tapping! It only shows scale of surveillance in our country.

Mass-media

What more the biggest media in Poland newspapers, web sites and tv channels belong to people who are connected with actual power from PO. There is Mariusz Walter jewish ex-communist, boss of TVN, TVN7, TVN24, onet.pl and others… and also owner of Legia Warszawa (fans of Legia were in 3 years conflict against him and his holding). Adam Michnik, real jewish name is Aaron Szechter, he’s a boss of Gazeta Wyborcza - well known Polish newspaper. Michnik is connected with actual political power and ex-communists, his brother and father issued death sentence for Poles who fought against communist regime.
Thanks mainstream media actual Polish government without any problems can show their propaganda everyday and put in heads their view of “their democracy”.

Economic situation

Now economic situation in Poland is the worst since 1989. Our country is not ready to organize such a big event like EURO 2012. Yes, we have new stadiums but there is problem with highways, airports and railways. Every month Poland is becoming increasingly indebted. Because of that prices of petrol and all products are coming higher and higher but government still raised taxes.

Media propaganda against football fans

People see that problems. Poles know that we’re not ready for EURO 2012 and economic situation is total disaster. But in media like TVN, TVN24 and Gazeta Wyborcza this problem doesn’t exist. For last months media shows football fans in Poland as bandits and mafia which cooperates like Sicilians. Every week you can watch on tv or read in newspaper that the police arrested bad gangster but it’s not a problem. Problem is that those gangsters every time are showed in media as a football fans. Already we had news about narcotic mafia connected with fans of Ruch Chorzow and GKS Katowice; mafia from Lodz connected with LKS Lodz fans distributed illegal alcohol; as Gazeta Wyborcza says Jagiellonia fans were responsible for prostitute business in Bialystok etc. etc. Of course there is also a lot of information which shows Lech Poznan and Legia Warszawa supporters as stadium bandits and bad hooligans. What’s sad usually there are not any proofs for connection of supporters groups with mafia but football fans are main topic. Media used supporters to cover up mistakes of government.

Stadium law

Thanks this propaganda government could introduce regime law in the stadiums. It’s similar to new Croatian law regulation. For using flare during match you can get ban and 5 year prison, if you don’t listen the steward you can get 2 years ban, not only courts can give stadium bans but also football clubs but clubs don’t need any proofs to punish supporters so many fans have bans because they don’t like chairman or security boss. Today even covering face in the stadium by glasses or hat is a crime!

It’s enough!

Football fans said “it’s enough!” and started protest in Polish stadiums in April. Firstly by banners and tifo. Legia fans during match with Zaglebie Lubin showed choreography made by balloons which looked similar to logo of Gazeta Wyborcza… but with inscription “Gowno prawda” what means “Bullshit!”.

Tifo against Gazeta Wyborcza during match Legia Warszawa vs. Zaglebie Lubin

Then on every stadium fans showed banners against government “Niespelnione rzadu obietnice – temat zastepczy kibice” – what means that unfulfilled promises of government are covering up by topic about bad fans. Also during match Lech – Legia fans from Warsaw showed tifo against boss of Gazeta Wyborcza: “Szechter, you have to apologize for your father and brother!!!”. There was also web site address www.szechteriada.org where people can read how Szechter’s family cooperated with CCCP and killed many Poles during communism.

Tifo of Legia Warszawa fans against owner of Gazeta Wyborcza: "Szechter, you have to apologize for your father and brother!!!"

Lech Poznan fans banner: "Project Euro 2012: stadiums-overpayed, highways-none, airports-too small, players-are weak. Showing fans as a main problem makes government happy!"

Widzew Lodz fans and their antigovernment banner

Of course reaction of government was easy to predict. Football clubs got huge financial punishments for those banners and tifos.

Cup final

During Polish Cup final Lech Poznan vs. Legia Warszawa fans continued their protest and at the beginning they left tribunes and showed a lot of antigovernment banners. After 15 minutes everybody came back and started real ultra fest. Nobody did care about punishments so fans had just good fun with tifo, a lot of pyro and screaming for the rest of match. Than Legia fans celebrated victory on the pitch and Lech fans had some small riots with security.

Banner of Legia fans: "You lie to people that supporters are responsible for all bad things"

For real it was nothing serious, just normal situation like everywhere when fans celebrate important title but prime minister only waited for this. Next day he had a speech in media and told that he’s going to arrest all hooligans and he’ll close stadiums in Warsaw and Poznan… it doesn’t matter that match was in Bydgoszcz. Next week police arrested about 30 fans but what’s important most of them were not involved in riots. Police just arrested people from Supporters Societies, the most important people for fans organizations!!! Capo of Legia, spokesman of Legia fans society (SKLW) and others!!! All of them have got 5 years stadium bans from prosecutors who don’t want to wait for decision of court. Of course police movies with arresting supporters, people could watch in every news. It was more important topic than killing of Bin Laden.

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Police arrested Legia fan after Cup final

Protest and next stadiums closed

Next weekend fans in Poland in solidarity with Lech and Legia fans were leaving tribunes.

GKS Katowice supporters like other fans left their tribune and hanged banner "Tribune is closed on the order of Donald Tusk"

In Poznan and Warsaw supporters prepared manifestation near closed stadiums.

Lech Poznan fans supported their team from outside of stadium

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After match Legia vs. Korona Kielce, security forbade to Legia players go outside the stadium where they want to thanks their fans for support from the street

Polish supporters still were showing antigovernment banners so prime minister – Donald Tusk closed next stadiums in Lubin and Wroclaw… but it's not end of repressions. Prime minister in cooperation with police forbade away games visit to all supporters in Poland.
Fans in other cities began organize protests on the streets. Together slogan in every city is “Donald matole, twoj rzad obala kibole!” – “Donald, you sucker! Football fans will overthrow your government!”. For this slogan police stopped and punished 43 supporters of Jagiellonia Bialystok! As said one policeman, police got an order from the top to stop all fans in the stadiums and outside who scream or show antigovernment slogans.

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Police stopped Jagiellonia fans for antigovernment slogans

Not only supporters

Actual political power try to fight against all opposition movements. Last week special services arrested 18 year boy in his house for creating web site AntyKomor.pl where he was writing his arguments against President Bronislaw Komorowski from PO. Censorship and surveillance in Poland is a real problem so probably other parts of Polish society will join to antigovernment protests on the streets.

Now Polish fans don’t support their teams. There is no atmosphere in our stadiums. We’ll be protest till we win. People see what this government did to our country. Even if they want to break us, to make us fear that police will visit us next morning we don’t afraid. Maybe they will come to me tomorrow morning for this article but we, football fans won’t give up!

Donald Tusk promised to Poles economic success like in Ireland but instead we have second Belarus…

This is how look like Polish stadiums today... empty, sad and without atmosphere:

The curve of Korona Kielce fanatics. Most of their ultra fans have got stadium bans.

Lech Poznan fanatics main tribune...

Text: Giorgio