It was after a football match was decided on a penalty shoot-out on Friday afternoon that the row broke out. The match was between youth teams from the USA and France, and when the team from the USA celebrated their victory, the French took out their frustration on their opponents. A large and bloody fight broke out, the police confirm to Swedish Expressen. One person was punched during the fight and suffered minor injuries. – Several people have escaped from the scene. The police’s work continues, says Anna Göransson to the newspaper. Norwegian Jan Ove Årsæther witnessed the drama at Gothia which unfolded after a football match before the match his daughter was to play for Arna-Bjørnar from Bergen. – It is not entirely unusual to be pushed after a match, but that force and aggressiveness only continued even if adults intervened. And as I see it, the French leaders were completely passive and awkward, says Årsæther. – Got both kicked and punched Årsæther says that two boys in particular on the French team were the instigators and managed to rally the team to run after the Americans. – We were very shocked that it never ended, and that the players ran hundreds of meters after the Americans who tried to retreat towards a subway station, says Årsæther. The police were quickly on the scene at the stadium in Gothenburg. Photo: JAN OVE ÅRSÆTHER Both players, managers and others who happened to be in the way were hit. Managers from the Swedish team Smedby, whom Arna Bjørnar was supposed to meet, were also involved – A powerful Swedish manager for Smedby intervened. He was both kicked and punched, says Årsæther. He says that the French players were eventually locked in a dressing room by the police. Parents also attacked A witness that Göteborgs-Posten has spoken to says that the parents of the winning team were also attacked. – It doesn’t belong here. It’s terrible. There are parents who cry and get kicked in the face. They can do nothing, says the witness. The witness is associated with the American team. – The players and our parents have been injured. A few young people were injured and a parent who needed stitches, says the witness. The Gothia Cup is played every year in Gothenburg, and is one of the world’s biggest tournaments. Each year around 1,700 teams from 80 nations participate, and several Norwegian teams participate each year.
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