His eyes just rolled back and he lost consciousness: Witnesses describe how Celtic fan got attacked and beaten

Zmaj Jovina Street this morning; Photo: Telegraf

In the very center of Belgrade, in Zmaj Jovina Street, a chaotic fight broke out last night before midnight between football fans, which caused panic and fear among the guests in surrounding establishments. A fan of the Celtic football club from Scotland, M.Z. (34) was seriously injured in the incident and is currently being treated for severe head injuries in the Emergency Center.

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Telegraf.rs has learned that the visiting Celtic fans were sitting in a restaurant when masked persons approached them, which witnesses claim were Red Star (Crvena Zvezda) fans.

The two clubs are set to play a Europa League game in Belgrade this evening.

"They sat down to have dinner when the exchange of taunts started, and then chaos ensued. They (assailants) charged at them and started beating them (Celtic fans). I ran away from my table to avoid being caught up in it, and most of the guests went under their tables out of fear!," an eyewitness tells Telegraf.rs, and adds:

"It was horrible, people were screaming, running, there was panic! You couldn't tell who was beating whom or with what... It felt lilke the fight had gone on for a while, but in reality, it ended in almost a minute. The unfortunate Celtic fan fell to the ground, and the attackers ran away."

According to reports, about 15 thugs participated in the fight, but eyewitnesses stated that four of them, wearing masks, were the ones who attacked M.Z.

"He had hematomas on his head, workers from surrounding bars immediately ran to him and tried to administer first aid. Someone even brought ice, but the unfortunate man lost consciousness. His eyes just rolled back," the eyewitness said.

The ambulance soon arrived at the scene and transported M.Z. to the hospital.

The eyewitness also told us that he lives a few streets away and often comes to Zmaj Jovina Street, but that problems involving fans there are a frequent occurrence.

"You have no idea how they behave, I come here to relax after a hard day, and they shout, throw napkins... I won't even mention the state of the toilets! Every now and again, they attack each other, this was around 10:45 pm last night, I'm not sure exactly, it was so chaotic that you couldn't even see what exactly they were using to beat them (Celtic fans) with," the eyewitness told Telegraf.rs.

The police quickly arrived at the scene of the incident, but the participants had already dispersed.

The investigation is ongoing, as the police are now collecting video footage from security cameras installed on surrounding establishments, in order to identify the attackers.

(Telegraf.rs)