The police in Liberec, north Bohemia, are investigating an unprecedented case of a giant banner with suspected anti-Muslim propaganda that local football fans unfolded at the sports stadium during a recent match, daily Právo writes today.
During the Jablonec vs Bohemians 1905 First League match on Sunday, the fans of Jablonec unfolded a large cloth with a picture evidently inciting to the chasing of Muslims away from Europe.
The picture showed a bearded pig in a coat and turban, who has dropped the Quran as a result of a kick he received from a Nordic-looking female medieval fighter with a spear and a shield with the inscription EUROPE.
The police are assessing whether the unfolding of the cloth, which the fans present as a standard banner, was a criminal act, Právo writes.
“Proceedings have been launched on suspicion of the crime of the fomenting of hatred against a group of people or infringing upon their rights and freedoms,” regional police spokeswoman told the daily.
She said the police had not dealt with a similar incident ever before, which is why they have asked for an expert opinion from a specialist in extremism.
The Jablonec football team has distanced itself from the fans’ behavior, for which it apologized.
The fans gained the team’s consent to use a banner beforehand. However, before the match, they acquainted the team with a cloth only showing the Nordic female fighter. The other figure was added to the painting only afterwards, which the team considers “a foul” on the part of its fans, Právo writes.