Bilingual police officers to work at Hungary-Romania match

Budapest, September 4 (MTI) – Hungarian police will dispatch bilingual police officers to serve in sectors occupied by Romanian soccer fans during a European Championship match in Budapest on Friday evening, a spokeswoman for national police said.

The task of these Hungarian police officers speaking fluent Romanian will be to advise soccer fans about their rights and responsibilities and logistics details of the match, Viktoria Csiszer-Kovacs told a press conference.

Hungarian police will conduct joint patrols with their Romanian colleagues at the stadium, she added.

In an additional precautionary measure, the chief of Hungary’s riot police has ordered tightened inspections in several counties around the capital and in eastern Hungary, she said.

The match is scheduled to begin at 8.45pm in Groupama Arena outside the city centre.

Overnight on Friday, soccer hooligans wreaked havoc and destruction in the central area of Budapest around Deak Square and Erzsebet Square ahead of the match. The vandals — reportedly skinheads wearing black — damaged several police vehicles, breaking windscreens and slashing tyres. They took chairs from nearby bars and used them to smash police cars.

Several were arrested in the area and around Liszt Ferenc Square. MTI received information that clashes between rival fans also happened in the City Park.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters