Romanian president condemns soccer fans

Photo: Romanian president condemns soccer fans

Romanian president condemns soccer fans

Romanian President Traian Basescu is quite dissatisfied because of soccer fans attacked a television cameraman at last week's derby between Steaua and Dinamo.

Cameraman Robert Cristea had his leg broken and received other injuries Saturday when assaulted by a group of Steaua fans who'd climbed a fence to enter the stadium after clashing with police outside.

"The fans' attack on journalists is not normal," Basescu said. "Violence is not normal in a civilized world."

More than 1,000 officers were at the game, but police were widely criticized for failing to help Cristea after footage he filmed showed a mounted officer riding nearby without intervening to stop the assault.

One fan is clearly visible in the footage as he attacks Cristea with a chain. The camera's lens is then broken, but filming continues.

"When I saw the policemen half a meter behind me are not intervening, I took the broken camera and filmed the attackers' faces," Cristea said on Romanian sports Web site onlinesport.ro.

He was treated for his injuries at a local hospital and released.

The footage and other images are being used to try to identify the attackers, the riot police said in a statement Monday.

The statement added the men who attacked Cristea were part of a group of about 80 Steaua fans who had fought with police minutes earlier when attempting to enter the stadium through a broken fence.

Violent incidents are common at Bucharest matches between fans of the city's top three teams, Steaua, Dinamo.