Austrian hospitality? Hungarian football fans stopped at border without explanation
A serious issue arose on Thursday when Austrian authorities refused entry to a special train carrying Ferencváros supporters. The fans were travelling from Budapest to watch their team’s Europa League match against Salzburg that evening, but the train was stopped at Hegyeshalom and ultimately prevented from crossing the border.
Ferencváros supporters blocked at the border
According to Telex, the supporters set off early in the morning, around 8 a.m., but the police stopped the train at the border. Eyewitnesses reported that armed Austrian officers wearing riot helmets boarded the train, ordered all passengers to disembark, and conducted thorough searches. However, neither the police nor railway authorities provided any explanation for their actions.
Szijjártó speaks with the Austrian foreign minister
Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó announced on social media that Hungarian diplomacy immediately intervened in the matter. He stated that, with the help of the Hungarian embassy in Vienna and consular officials, they managed to secure permission for the train to continue its journey under Hungarian police escort. Szijjártó also said he personally spoke with Austria’s Foreign Minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, who expressed her support.
However, the situation did not improve: by early afternoon, the train was still stranded at the border, and it later emerged that Austria ultimately refused to let it enter the country. The Ferencváros supporters were forced to return to Hungary. Gábor Kubatov, president of FTC, wrote on social media that the authorities had prevented entry on “fabricated grounds.” The club issued a bilingual statement on its official website protesting the actions of the Austrian authorities.
Why were the Hungarian fans denied entry?
Later in the afternoon, Szijjártó announced that the Austrian ambassador to Hungary had been summoned to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to express the Hungarian government’s protest over the incident. The minister described the situation as “outrageous and scandalous,” condemning the decision to deny entry to the Fradi supporters. He added that the Austrian railway company and the police were blaming each other while misleading both Hungarian officials and the fans.
Hungarian consuls remained on site throughout the incident, continuously trying to mediate. Szijjártó also expressed his hope that the Ferencváros players would “take their revenge on the pitch with a great victory.”
UPDATE: Here is their reasoning
According to a report by Austrian outlet Salzburger Nachtrichten, the Austrian police forces ultimately refused to allow the Ferencváros supporters’ train to cross the border because the fans were “setting off fireworks and behaving inappropriately.”
Fradi supporters are the equivalent of Millwall supporters in the UK. A trainload of them is probably the last thing Austria wants or needs, it would prefer if beautiful Salzburg remains intact.