| 2000 UEFA Cup Final riots | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | 17 May 2000 | |||
| Location | City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark 55°40′33″N 12°34′9″E / 55.67583°N 12.56917°E | |||
| Caused by | Retaliation attacks for murders of Leeds United fans by Galatasaray fans in Istanbul, and football hooliganism. | |||
| Methods | Riot | |||
| Resulted in | 19 civilians injured, 60 arrests | |||
| Parties | ||||
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| Lead figures | ||||
Mogens Lauridsen | ||||
| Number | ||||
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The 2000 UEFA Cup Final Riots, also known as the Battle of Copenhagen,[1] were a series of riots in City Hall Square, Copenhagen, Denmark between fans of English football team Arsenal and Turkish team Galatasaray around the 2000 UEFA Cup Final on 17 May 2000. Four people were stabbed in the scuffles, which also involved fans from other clubs and were viewed by the media as part of a retaliation for the killing of two Leeds United fans by Galatasaray supporters the month before.
The events of the day started early in the morning when skirmishes broke out in a bar, which led to an Arsenal fan being stabbed. Later in the day, Galatasaray fans occupied City Hall Square before heading towards Arsenal fans in bars nearby. The Galatasaray fans were later attacked from behind by members of British hooligan firms seeking revenge for the Istanbul stabbings. The police had prior warning of potential trouble and deployed 2,000 officers to the area, yet they were unable to control the riot until they fired tear gas. This led to 19 injuries, including 4 stabbings, and 60 arrests with similar events occurring in England and Turkey in the aftermath of the riots.
Football authorities condemned the riots and threatened to expel national football teams from European competition if such events happened again. The Danish police were also criticized for their mishandling of the riots.