Police Foil Attempted Attack on Slavia Fan March Ahead of Derby with Sparta

On Sunday afternoon, Prague police thwarted an attempted attack on a march of Slavia supporters heading to the evening football derby against Sparta at the Letná stadium. According to police, around 20 men were preparing to attack the column of fans with paving stones near the Metronome on Letná Square.

Police reported on X that two further potential clashes were prevented on Korunovační Street, and one man was detained for an administrative offence. The match was classified as high-risk, so the march was escorted by fully equipped riot police. Law enforcement had been preparing for the Sunday derby for several weeks, mindful of the May match at Eden, when hundreds of Slavia fans stormed the pitch and attacked Sparta players.

How the attackers were stopped

According to police spokesman Jan Daněk, around 500 Slavia supporters marched from the National Theatre toward Letná. "During the march, we identified and prevented an attempted attack. About 20 men pulled up paving stones near the Metronome, put on boxing gloves and began covering their faces. It appears they intended to attack the column using stones. We have identified all the men involved," the police statement said.

The gathering point near the National Theatre was chosen symbolically — right across from the Slavia café. Fans reached the Sparta stadium in about an hour, arriving around 6:30 p.m. Most wore white T-shirts, some with red-and-white scarves. Along the way, chants targeted Sparta, the police, Slavia club chairman Jaroslav Tvrdík, and former Slavia player Matěj Jurásek, who had transferred to Sparta. Before the march began, police warned participants that covering their faces or committing other offences would not be tolerated.

The route ran along Smetana Embankment, Křižovnická Street, 17 listopadu Street, across Čechův Bridge, through the Letná plain, and along Korunovační Street. Police temporarily closed certain sections to car and tram traffic along the way. Hundreds of officers from patrol, criminal, traffic and migration units were deployed to ensure security, along with an anti-conflict team, mounted police and canine units.

Heightened security at the stadium

Sparta spent 700,000 crowns on security for the league derby — roughly a third more than for a regular championship match. The funds cover security personnel, event organisers and reinforced rescue services. Municipal police were also called in to help. Fans entering the stadium faced security checks, with entry denied to anyone found carrying pyrotechnics.

This was the first meeting between Prague's two "S" clubs since the unfinished May derby at Eden. During that match, part of the home crowd — mostly from the north stand — stormed the pitch in stoppage time of the second round of the championship play-offs and attacked several away players. The match, which stood at 3:2 in Slavia's favour, was not completed; the disciplinary commission later awarded Sparta a 3:0 technical win. The Vršovice-based club was fined ten million crowns and banned from hosting spectators at four home league matches. Despite this, Slavia went on to retain the championship title at the end of the season.

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Source: seznamzpravy.cz