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So, when I heard that there had been violence after the Turkey-Switzerland qualifier, I immediately assumed (unfairly, perhaps, but also understandably, based on their history) that it involved the Turkish fans. But I just saw the clip – turns out that Benjamin Huggel (that’s him up there – now if you run into him you’ll know who he is and can whack him one) passed a Turkish coach on his way into the tunnel, kicked him, and kept running. Not only is that pathetically unprofessional, but it’s cowardly at well. What the hell is going through his head? “We lost the match, so I’ll kick the bastard! But I don’t want him to hurt me, so I’ll do it as I sprint by. I am such a beast! Not to mention a credit to my team!” Christ.
Needless to say, the entire thing descended into a massive brawl (thankfully it took place in the tunnel, out of sight of most of the fans), and the Swiss had an unused substitute taken the hospital with injuries. Nice work, Huggel – classy way to celebrate entry into the World Cup.
2359 days ago
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You’re totally right, ranndino. I wrote that piece right after the event, when no one had yet spotted the earlier trip. That said, though, none of that makes Huggel’s reaction ok – he doesn’t get a pass just because someone else was an idiot first.
I read that about the security, as well – have you seen it official confirmed anywhere? The latest I’ve heard is that the security tapes from the tunnel were “stolen and destroyed,” which is convenient.
I love it when people state strong opinions when they don’t know what the hell they are talking about. Huggel retaliated against the Turkish trainer who tried to kick a Swiss player first. The video you saw was cut so that this part wasn’t seen (I saw that one too). What happened in the tunnel had nothing to do with that episode. If you watch the video carefully the brawl was already on when Huggel ran in to the tunnel. The Turks started the whole thing. Sore losers. I actually cheered for the Turks during the game because I like a lot of their players, but jumping the Swiss team in the tunnel was truly pathetic. The Turkish security there to protect the players actually helped in the beating. Nice.
2371 days ago
[...] After facing what they described (presumably in Turkish) as “one of the most difficult editorial decisions a newspaper can make,” Turkish newspaper Vatan published pictures today of Mehmet Ozdilek trying to trip a Swiss player as they ran off the pitch on Wednesday. In other words, the Turks started it – Benjamin Huggel was merely retaliating, which apparently has somehow rendered him blameless. [...]