It was the services subordinate to the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, that were responsible for the chaos surrounding the Poland-Netherlands match at PGE Narodowy – Niezalezna.pl has found. Thorough checks delayed entry to the match, yet still proved ineffective. In addition, a patriotic choreography was blocked – one that was supposed to be particularly impressive, twice as large as the one from the match against Lithuania.
It was the services subordinate to the head of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration, Marcin Kierwiński, that were responsible for the chaos surrounding the Poland-Netherlands match at PGE Narodowy – Niezalezna.pl has found. Thorough checks delayed entry to the match, yet still proved ineffective. In addition, a patriotic choreography was blocked – one that was supposed to be particularly impressive, twice as large as the one from the match against Lithuania.
Angry fans stood in long queues and were thoroughly checked. All because the match was classified as “high-risk”. Fans were not allowed to bring in the choreography – a sector banner reading “Go Poland”(“Do boju Polsko”), as well as 300 white-and-red flags.
The organised support for the national team was an initiative heavily backed by the Polish Football Association (PZPN). However, according to Niezalezna.pl, the police demanded additional security, forcing the federation to pay an extra 300,000 złoty. The PZPN could only watch with regret as the services reporting to Marcin Kierwiński torpedoed a smooth entry process. They were also highly ineffective, as some fans still managed to bring in flares and threw them onto the pitch in the second half.
After the match, the PZPN issued a statement. The federation opposed the lighting of flares and stressed that it would analyse how the services operated at the event.
“Safety at the stadium is a priority. The services responsible for order, acting jointly with the police, make the final decisions on who should not enter the venue. They are also responsible for carrying out checks in such a way as to prevent dangerous items from being brought inside. All these issues will be subject to detailed analysis after the match.” – the statement reads.
The National Stadium Like a Fortress, and Fans Humiliated by the Services. “They Were Digging in Our Underwear.”
Fans who travelled to Warsaw for the Poland-Netherlands match experienced deep disappointment. Increased security measures, additional guards, massive chaos and… humiliation – that’s what the event looked like, although it was supposed to be a football celebration.
On Friday evening, PGE Narodowy looked like a fortress. Reinforced police forces and extra security – for which, as Niezalezna.pl learned, the federation had to pay an additional 300,000 złoty at the request of the uniformed services.
Despite this, fans still managed to bring in flares, which they threw onto the pitch. At the same time, a post appeared online from a supporter of the current government (as indicated by their activity on X), threatening to kill President Karol Nawrocki and suggesting they had a gun and would soon “meet” the head of state.
TV Republika showed what the increased security looked like at the match.
Mateusz Pilecki from the association “To My Polacy” described in greater detail what happened before the match against the Netherlands. It turned out that the efforts of many people who worked on preparing the match choreography were nullified by a single decision from the services.
“For some unknown reason, we were simply trampled on. A wonderful, patriotic choreography had been prepared, everything was perfectly arranged, the preparations took a very long time. We learned in the afternoon that there would be no capo stand, no possibility of bringing in the choreography and that it was a decision made by the uniformed services, completely incomprehensible to us” – he said in an interview with Kanał Sportowy.
“We were humiliated. We were surrounded by a police cordon, forced to use a special entrance, we were led into a tent where they looked between our buttocks, they were digging in our underwear. We have been to many matches, there has never been anything like this.”
The match was classified as a “high-risk” fixture, and as a result enormous queues formed at the stadium. Confused fans waited for hours to get inside as chaos spread around them. Some ran to nearby shops to print their tickets.
“Queues, the girl in front of me fainted, the crush was unbelievable, everyone was pushing. Zero information, none of the volunteers were saying anything through megaphones, people were entering through the wrong gates and then being turned back, creating a pointless jam in both directions” – reported one of the people present at the match.