By VANESSA GERA
Associated Press
Associated Press Sports
updated 3:25 p.m. ET June 9, 2012
WARSAW, Poland (AP) -Four stewards at the European Championship were hospitalized after being attacked by Russia fans at Wroclaw Municipal Stadium. Russia fans were also involved in two other brawls, one in the city center and the other in Ukraine.
The Wroclaw incident occurred after Russia beat Czech Republic 4-1, with online footage showing fans punching the stewards in a stadium concourse area. One steward was punched to the ground and then kicked before the fans walked away.
The stewards weren't badly injured and were later discharged from hospitals. The beatings lasted for a "few dynamic minutes," but all in all it was a "small incident," police spokesman Pawel Petrykowski said. No arrests were made, but police said they had examined security footage and have photos of 12 of the people involved in the attack.
Police said this information was being given to Polish border guards and Russian authorities in an attempt to capture the men.
UEFA released a statement Saturday calling it "a brief and isolated incident involving a small group of around 30 fans who attacked a handful of stewards. The situation was quickly and efficiently brought under control. The local police are aware of the incident and investigating."
Police and a witness who took video footage said the Russia fans became aggressive when stewards tried to capture a man who had thrown firecrackers toward the pitch.
In a separate incident in central Wroclaw, four Russians were detained for questioning for allegedly beating up another Russian, who was hospitalized, another Wroclaw police spokesman, Krzysztof Zaporowski, said. The man was treated and later discharged.
The suspects were under the influence of alcohol and police would question them later, Zaporowski said.
In the Ukrainian city of Lviv, a fight broke out between about 10 supporters of Russia and Ukraine outside the football fan zone after Russia beat Czech Republic 4-1, police spokeswoman Svitlana Dobrovolska said.
About six Russia fans waving the black, yellow and white flag of the Russian empire and four supporters of the Ukrainian team dressed in the national colors of blue and yellow grappled and punched each before police intervened to stop the fight. The fans were separated, told to behave and released, Dobrovolska said.
"It was nothing serious," she said.
Tensions are high between the two ex-Soviet neighbors as Ukraine seeks to move out of the shadow of its former imperial master and forge closer times with the European Union. Disagreements range from different views on the two countries' shared history, the price of Russian gas imports, the use of the Russian language in Ukraine and even a recent quarrel over Ukrainian cheese imports to Russia.
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Associated Press writers Monika Scislowska and Graham Dunbar in Warsaw, and Maria Danilova in Kiev, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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