So much for Scandinavian calm!
A wild Euro ’08 qualifier between Scandinavian neighbors Denmark and Sweden ended in confusion as the game was abandoned in the 89th minute when a fan attacked German referee Herbert Fandel after he awarded the visiting Swedes a penalty when Dane Christian Poulsen punched Markus Rosenberg in the penalty area.
Fandel didn’t see the incident but awarded the penalty kick and red carded Poulsen after consulting his assistant. Before the Swedes could take the penalty to break the 3-3 tie, a fan attacked the German referee, who also handled the UEFA Champions League final between AC Milan and Liverpool. Several Danish players stepped in between the attacker and Fandel, who immediately blew the whistle and walked off the field. The fan, only identified as a 23-year-old man from Ostebro, was arrested.
Thus ended a thrilling match in which the Danes came back from three goals down after 26 minutes to pull even at 3-3.
The result of the game will not be confirmed until an investigation by UEFA’s disciplinary committee following receipt of the reports from its delegate and the referee, but Danish soccer federation general secretary Jim Hansen, a member of the UEFA disciplinary committee, said he thought victory would be awarded to Sweden, 3-0, by forfeit.
“In my mind,” he said, “there is no doubt we will be judged the losers.”
Goals by Daniel Agger, Jon Dahl Tomasson and Leon Andreasen pulled the Danes even, but 14 minutes after Andreasen’s equalizer Poulsen self-destructed.
“My mind just went click and I hit him,” said Poulsen, who plays for Spanish club Sevilla. “I want to apologize to my team mates and to the spectators. It’s the most stupid thing I’ve ever done. It happened at a time when we had pulled back Sweden’s lead. I can’t explain it.”
“This was supposed to be a soccer party,” said Danish goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen. “But then these two ill tempered incidents happened and made it a real anti-climax.”