Article by Adrian Duţă – published Wednesday, 06 August 2025, 11:49 / Updated Wednesday, 06 August 2025 11:49
The Red Star Belgrade and Lech Poznan dispute tonight, from 10:00 pm, the first match of the preliminary round of the Champions League. Important police forces are present on the streets of Poznan since yesterday, and because of the match “Belgrade Operation” was launched.
The Polish police mobilized additional forces from the Poland Mare voivodeship and anti-conflict teams, within the “Belgrade” operation, before the match in the preliminary round of the Champions League between the Red Steaua Belgrade and Lech Poznan. This measure, announced yesterday by the Beta Agency, comes from the fear of possible incidents caused by the hooligans of both teams.
At the match, 40,000 spectators are expected, of which 1,500 tickets were allocated to the fans of the Belgrade Red Star (900 being already sold). Polish police consider this match as a high risk, given the negative reputation of both teams in Europe.
In addition to the ordinary incidents and tasks of the hooligans, the Polish authorities are also worried about the fact that one of the sponsors of the Belgian club is Gazprom, and The club, according to the Polish press, is among the few in Europe that do not hide their sympathies towards Russia, even after the war with Ukraine.
The fans of the Red Star Belgrade // Photo: Imago
No Serbian flags?
According to the information obtained by Sportal Serbia, the Serbian delegation was warned by the police to transmit to the supporters Crvena Zvezda that there will be no Serbian flags in the stands. However, given that Polish fans are known for their Kosovo-Serbia themed banners, the Local Police came to statements. “There is no chance that any of their supporters will display a banner with the message” We do not surrender “, according to the authorities.
The Polish police, which has already conducted additional patrols on the streets of Poznan, announced that most red Star supporters will arrive with buses and cars.
I started the operation “Belgrade”. Today the activity of the Operational Center, a large room with computers and screens, began. Here all the reports arrive and from here all the interventions are coordinated. We will monitor the route they go through and they will travel in the convoy. We will search them in detail before entering the stadium, and after the match, if nothing happens, we will lead them to the borders of the Poland Voivodeship and we will hate them.
– Andżej Borowjak, spokesman of the Regional Police Command
