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Even before the first face-off, the ZSC chaotic people ignite Pyros in the Arena. They did the same in the afternoon before the match in the old town of Rapperswil SG.
Nicole VandenbrouckIce hockey reporter
The Lakers beat the ZSC Lions for the third time this season last Saturday. Everything is prepared for a peaceful hockey festival in Rapperswil-Jona SG after a sporting highlight. But things are different. The evening turns into a nightmare. For the SCRJ players, many of their supporters, families. Because ZSC chaos rages. That happened:
The afternoon
In the afternoon, a group of Zurich fans scared the hockey town. With petards and firecrackers, she marches through Rappi’s old town. Passers-by are scared. Before that, the alarming information leaked out from both the club and the cantonal police in St. Gallen that the ZSC supporters were being accompanied by a German fan group from SC Freiburg. She came to celebrate the long-standing fan friendship. The police force for the game will be strengthened.
Before and during the game
Around 75 minutes before the game, the group grows. About 250 ZSC fans meet at the train station. Because they ignite more pyros in the underpass, it is completely fogged with smoke. The mob moves from the train station towards the stadium past the children’s zoo. On this path of 600 meters they fire more firecrackers.
Some Lakers fans are also behaving in an unacceptable manner: They prevent the ZSC player’s car from getting to the stadium smoothly by placing smoke pellets on the road several times, which the chauffeur has to clear out of the way.
In the sold-out arena, the ZSC chaos stretched a black tarpaulin over the guest sector before the first face-off. Underneath they disguise themselves in order to ignite numerous Pyros undetected. Then they change again under the tarpaulin and spread out in the stadium.
Spectators tell Blick that throughout the game there was an extremely aggressive atmosphere from the ZSC chaos sector. SCRJ Head of Communications and VR member Stefan Bürer can confirm this and experience it firsthand.
After the duel
ZSC losing to the Lakers for the third time this season is freaking out the already aggressive fans. They insult the SCRJ players, whose cloakroom entrance is from the players’ bench near the guest sector, in the worst possible way and show their faces twisted with anger. “It was an eerie scene,” describes Bürer, who was standing very close by. “We didn’t expect such violence at all.”
The ZSC chaos do not want to leave the stadium so quickly. The police, together with the security service of the Lakers and the ZSC Lions, succeed in preventing a meeting with the home fans and pushing the Zurich mob towards the train station. “After more firecrackers were thrown at police officers, the fan group took the train home. However, the departure of the train was delayed by 25 minutes because supporters of the ZSC Lions prevented the train from departing, »writes the St. Gallen Kapo in their message.
But: A group of 60 to 70 slobs can break away and return to the arena. About an hour after the end of the game, they try to gain access. Lakers fans who are still present can lock themselves in the “Red Rose Bar”. But the entrance to the cloakroom is also on the west side of the hall.
Just at this moment, two Lakers players want to leave the cabin – and face the angry mob. They immediately retreat to the cloakroom where they feel safe. The team is shocked. According to the canton police, the “forced entry of the fan mobs” can be “prevented by the use of pepper spray by stadium security and the St. Gallen canton police”.
The consequences?
The Lakers, who according to Bürer “condemn any form of violence as well as the behavior of their own fans in connection with the ZSC player car”, are now examining measures for next Saturday’s home game against Gottéron. The cantonal police are also carrying out a new risk assessment. She also checks whether she can identify those responsible for throwing firecrackers at her people.
And the ZSC? According to Chief Operating Officer Bruno Vollmer, Zurich will meet with the fan council at an extraordinary meeting on Friday and discuss the bad incidents. “The ZSC as an organization does not tolerate this behavior, nor pyrosis or violence,” emphasizes Vollmer. “We do everything we can to identify these chaotic people, also to protect the peaceful fans.”
National League 22/23
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