Lech Poznan loses match, first league standing and a great deal of respect

Lech Poznan lost 0:1 to LKS Lodz and buried its chances to stay in Poland's first soccer league. Perhaps more alarming, though, were the fights that broke out between each team's supporters, resulting in 35 people sent to the drunk tank, a destroyed police car, and smashed train windows. The brawls began at the Lodz railroad station when a few young hooligans of LKS Lodz threw stones at the train in which supporters of Lech Poznan were arriving. On the way to the stadium fans of Lech Poznan attacked policemen who were escorting them and two policemen were injured. Some fans were not even allowed to enter the stadium. When the brawls began again during half-time the police shot rubber bullets at the hooligans. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 1) M.M.