ANALYSIS-Soccer-Serbia's turning point in fight against violence
BELGRADE, Dec 3 (Reuters) - The latest outburst of soccer violence in Serbia has finally prompted the Balkan country's Football Association (FSS) and government to join forces in tackling hooliganism.
"What we need is a united front including clubs, sports bodies, players and institutions to condemn the violence and fans to distance themselves from hooligans," sports and youth minister Snezana Samardzic-Markovic told Reuters on Monday.
"Educational measures are desirable but repressive action is necessary and police have to act swiftly and decisively while the justice ministry should do the same."
On Sunday, a policeman fired two shots into the air in self-defence at Red Star Belgrade's match with Hajduk Kula as rioting fans battered him with burning flares and ripped seats.
He was taken to hospital and is in stable condition after he was treated for burns, cuts and bruises.
It was the second such incident in three years as a state television cameraman miraculously escaped unhurt during a 2004 riot in Belgrade, when shots fired by a policeman fighting a mob whizzed over his head.
Serbian soccer has been rife with violence in the past 15 years, the upsurge coming as an instant backlash of the former Yugoslavia's bloody break-up that resulted in what many experts describe as a loss of moral and social values.
Some of those bloody encounters resulted in deaths, many in serious injuries while very few produced fitting punishment for the offenders. Continued...
Sister speaks to jailed journalist