Europe League
Arrest of Legia players: Police reject allegations
There were two arrests following riots after Legia Warsaw’s game at AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League. photo
© Ed Van De Pol/ANP/dpa/archive image
Two Legia Warsaw professionals are arrested after the game in Alkmaar. Even Poland’s Prime Minister reacted the next day. There are allegations against the Dutch police. She defends herself.
The game of Legia Warsaw at AZ Alkmaar in the Conference League has repercussions at the highest political level after riots and two arrests.
After two visiting professionals were said to have been taken into custody, Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki intervened. Legia’s president and owner Dariusz Mioduski said after returning to Warsaw on Friday that the incident was an “absolute scandal”. In the afternoon, the judiciary in Alkmaar clarified what the two arrested players were accused of.
The players are said to have been violent
They mistreated AZ Alkmaar employees, explained senior public prosecutor Digna van Boetzelaer. The decision to arrest her was made after careful consideration. According to the judiciary, the club employees had to receive medical treatment after the attack. In a joint statement, the public prosecutor’s office, police and city emphasized: “It was the players who were violent. Therefore, it was decided to arrest them.”
The two Legia players, Josué Pesqueira and Radovan Pankov, were arrested in the northern Dutch city following the game on Thursday evening. Warsaw lost the game 0-1. According to the authorities, the players’ bus was initially unable to leave the parking lot for security reasons as the fans from Poland still had to leave the stadium. “Some players and officials apparently did not agree with this and became violent,” the statement said.
Poland’s head of government reacts
The matter was also discussed on the sidelines of the informal EU summit in Granada, Spain. According to his own information on Facebook, Poland’s Prime Minister Morawiecki personally spoke there with his Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte about the incident. “I expressed my strong protest against the brutal behavior of the Dutch police against the players and fans of Legia Warszawa,” he wrote, explaining that Rutte had promised a quick resolution of the incident.
Morawiecki had previously written via X, formerly Twitter, that he had instructed the Polish Foreign Ministry to take urgent diplomatic steps to verify the night’s events. There is currently an election campaign in Poland. The country will elect a new parliament on October 15th.
Club president makes serious allegations
Polish broadcaster TVP Sport also reported that Legia’s club president and owner Dariusz Mioduski was said to have been hit in the face by a shield. “I have never experienced our players, our staff and board members being attacked by security guards and the police,” he said in the Polish capital.
The Dutch police rejected the allegations that they had intervened too harshly. Legia Warsaw fans stormed the entrance gates in advance and attacked stewards and police. According to information, one police officer lost consciousness and two others were slightly injured. A number of fans entered the stadium without tickets and without controls.
“The prime minister informed me that he has asked our diplomatic services to urgently clarify this matter,” said government spokesman Piotr Müller. “At first glance, there are very serious doubts about the legality of the intervention of the Dutch services and the manner in which this intervention took place.” It “doesn’t look like a proper intervention and that worries us.”
A police spokesman confirmed on Dutch radio on Friday that one of those arrested was a 28-year-old man from Serbia, the second was 33 years old and came from Portugal. The police did not say whether they were Legia players, but the age and origin information would apply to Pankov and Pesqueira.