Afghan team supporters attack Pakistani fan outside stadium in Leeds
Afghan team supporters have resorted to violence inside and outside the cricket stadium
LEEDS (Web Desk/AFP) – Supporters of Afghan team have attacked and beaten-up a Pakistani fan, wearing the green shirt outside the Leeds cricket stadium on Saturday.
Reportedly, Afghan team supporters have resorted to violence inside and outside the cricket stadium where a group match between Pakistan and Afghanistan is underway.
Video footage of a number of incidents have been gathered in which the Afghan supporters are constantly harassing and intentionally walloping Pakistani citizens and journalists as well.
The stadium administration has removed many of the Afghan hooligans from the stadium who are resorting to such brutality. Police has been called to tackle the fragile security situation where seven to eight such incidents have been reported.
ICC took notice of the situation and expressed, "We are aware of some scuffles among a minority of fans and are currently working with the venue security team and the local police force, West Yorkshire Police, to ensure there are no further incidents. We do not condone this type of behaviour, and will take appropriate action against any anti-social behaviour that spoils the enjoyment for the majority of fans”.
"We work with local police forces around the country to prevent this type of incident occurring and were assured that given Headingley is under the flight path for the Leeds Bradford Airport it would not be an issue. We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and will work with West Yorkshire police to deal with and understand why this has happened and to ensure it does not happen again,” the ICC said.
Police were forced to intervene as violent clashes between rival supporters marred the World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Political relations between the south Asian neighbours have been marked by years of distrust and blame.
The ugly scenes at Headingley were sparked by the flying of a banner over the ground reading: "Justice for Balochistan."
Eyewitnesses told AFP there were clashes in the stands at the start of the match, which spread outside the ground until security officers intervened.
"Thanks to the intervention from security personnel the situation did not go out of control," said Ahmed Zai, who is from the Pakistani city of Peshawar, but lives in nearby Bradford.
A Pakistani journalist was also attacked by the crowd, stopping him from shooting video.
A statement from West Yorkshire police said: "At 11:55 am today (1055 GMT) police received reports of some trouble outside the ground linked to people trying to get in. Officers attended to disperse the group without any issues and remained on patrol in the area."
The International Cricket Council said in a statement: "We are aware of some scuffles among a minority of fans and are currently working with the venue security team and the local police force, West Yorkshire Police, to ensure there are no further incidents."
It added: "We do not condone any sort of political messages at the ICC Men s Cricket World Cup and will work with West Yorkshire police to deal with and understand why this has happened and to ensure it does not happen again."
The 17,000-capacity stadium was packed for the match, with Pakistan fans outnumbering Afghanistan supporters.
