Tuesday was set to be a historic day for Georgia, as they prepared to take on Turkey at EURO 2024 in their first-ever game at a major international football tournament.
The game was set to take place at the iconic Westfelenstadion in Dortmund, home to the famous Yellow Wall of home side Borussia Dortmund.
Torrential rain saw numerous waterfalls of rainwater cascading over the roof the stadium in the hours leading up to kick-off, and events in the stand would soon put a dampener on the excitement ahead of a huge day for Georgian football.
Video footage circulated on social media shortly before the game of violence kicking off between fans of both Turkey and Georgia, with police forced to intervene.
READ HERE: 'Out Of Order': Roy Keane Slams Kylian Mbappé Over Yellow Card
READ HERE: FAI Handed Yet Another Setback In Manager Hunt Following Sagnol's Latest Comments
Video footage emerges of violent clashes between Turkey and Georgia fans
Images began to circulate around 80 minutes before kick-off, showing Turkey and Georgia fans clashing in a corner of the Westfelenstadion in Dortmund.
Running battle between Turkey and Georgia supporters. pic.twitter.com/pbHDekxbHV
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) June 18, 2024
Things aren’t going well in Dortmund. pic.twitter.com/FOADUTiEh1
— HLTCO (@HLTCO) June 18, 2024
Soon, video footage from inside the stadium would emerge.
Multiple clips from different vantage points showed stewards struggling to break up the rain-soaked factions of fans. One section of the supporters appeared to be at ground level, as rival fans grappled from their vantage point in the stands.
It’s all kicked off between Turkey & Georgia fans before the game😳👊 pic.twitter.com/PL4zYQL58m
— The 44 ⚽️ (@The_Forty_Four) June 18, 2024
It’s all kicking off between Georgia and Turkey fans before the game. pic.twitter.com/YdKHFCiJbG
— Football Away Days (@AwayDays_) June 18, 2024
The Associated Press reported that the violence was nullified once riot police rolled in.
Tuesday's game sees an enormous amount of fervent Turkish fans in attendance due to the enormous diaspora the country has in Germany. In 2023, it was estimated that 1.54 million Turks currently live in Germany, with some outlets describing this tournament as a "home tournament" for the Turkish team.
The violence in Dortmund is the latest in a string of incidents across the opening round of EURO 2024 games.
Sunday in Gelsenkirchen saw multiple injuries as a result of violent clashes between fans, said in various outlets to be from England, Serbia, or Albania.
An axe-wielding man was shot and wounded in Hamburg earlier on Sunday, after moving towards police nearby a group of Dutch fans ahead of the Poland v Netherlands game in the city that afternoon.
Meanwhile, numerous reports of shambolic transport links to and from stadiums have emerged. Fans were stranded in Gelsenkirchen returning from England v Serbia on Sunday night, with an England fan group calling for urgent action from tournament organisers.
