The Wiener derby clash between Rapid Vienna and Austria Vienna on Sunday descended into chaos after full-time when fights between rival supporters wielding fireworks broke out on the pitch.
The match at the Franz Horr Stadium – which houses a capacity crowd of 17,500 had ended in a 2-1 victory for hosts Rapid to move them a point clear at the top of the Austrian Bundesliga. Visiting winger Andreas Gruber had cancelled out Dion Beljo’s opener only for Matthias Seidl to bag what turned out to be the winner for Rapid on the hour mark.
And tensions in the powder keg derby were plunged into madness following the full-time whistle as thousands of fans from both sides overwhelmed security to storm onto the pitch and confront each other. Footage of the horrific scenes quickly circulated around social media, where individuals could be seen launching fireworks at each other as well as at supporters who had remained in the stands.
Armed police officers quickly appeared on the scene to try and detain some of the intruders as the ugly scenes on the pitch raged on. The fixture is the most-played derby on the continent after the Old Firm between Celtic and Rangers and the Edinburgh derby between Hearts and Hibs.
The two clubs – who have won 46 top flights team between them – are the only two Austrian clubs to have never been relegated. Although both teams hail from the Hietzing district, they are seen to represent different groups of society, with Austria Wien recognised as a middle-class club while Rapid is traditionally followed by working class fans in the country’s capital.
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