By Mark Baber
March 26 – There were disturbances outside the Ferenc Puskas stadium and teargas fired as Hungary and Romania played out a 2-2 draw in their World Cup qualifier behind closed doors. FIFA had ordered the match to be played in an empty stadium following anti-semitic incidents during a Hungary vs Israel friendly in Budapest last August.
Following the World Cup qualifier a group of around 50 fans threw bottles at police who responded with tear gas. Several people were arrested whilst one person suffered minor injuries.
The protest outside the stadium had been organised by ‘Jobbik, The Movement for a Better Hungary’, a right-wing nationalist party, to protest against the FIFA order. Several thousand people had watched the game on a big screen.
Jobbik has grown into a powerful force in Hungary during the current economic crisis, with a nationalist agenda and a record of anti-Semitic statements by its members. In the 2010 parliamentary elections Jobbik garnered 855,436 votes in the first round and 12.18% of seats, making it Hungary’s third biggest political party.
In November 2012, Márton Gyöngyösi, a leader of Jobbik, advised the government to draw up lists of Israeli-Hungarian politicians in the Hungarian Parliament who pose a “national security risk”.
The concern is now that the FIFA ban has been used to political advantage by Hungarian nationalists and increased anti-Semitism in the country – the very opposite of the intention of the ban. A newsletter, edited by a Jobbik candidate and published by “The trade union of Hungarian police officers prepared for action,” allegedly said: “Given our current situation, anti-Semitism is not just our right, but it is the duty of every Hungarian homeland lover, and we must prepare for armed battle against the Jews.”
The Hungarian Football Federation (HFF) had appealed to CAS for a suspension of their penalty for the anti-semitic behaviour of some of their fans but the appeal was turned down. The HFF organised a concert by Hungarian pop-rock band Magna Cum Laude and big screens to entertain around 4,000 supporters at a separate location in Budapest.
Contact the writer of this story at moc.l1734908085labto1734908085ofdlr1734908085owedi1734908085sni@r1734908085ebab.1734908085kram1734908085