Slovak Football Match Overshadowed by Anti-Hungarian Remarks

Dunajská Streda football club DAC has expressed its deep disappointment and concern over the events of Friday’s match against Slovan Bratislava, in particular the choreography presented by the home fans, which it considers offensive against Hungarians, M4 Sport reported.

On Saturday, at the end of the first quarter of an hour of the Slovan-DAC match, the home supporters in Bratislava held up a giant drapery (also known as a tifo) identifying Hungary as Mongolia. It depicted a ‘teacher’ in a Slovan jersey speaking to a group of people sitting in front of a map, with DAC, Mongolia and Fradi (Budapest football club Ferencváros) written on their backs. Underneath the drapery it read in Slovak “Slovakia is the country of Slovaks and Slovan fans”.

DAC condemned the Hungarian abuse and the actions of the Slovan supporters, and announced that it would lodge an official complaint with the Slovak Football Association. The football club in Dunajská Streda (Dunaszerdahely), located in southern Slovakia, formerly part of Hungary, has many Hungarian supporters.

As they wrote, this tifo was not only a mockery of their club – but also touched on ethnic, cultural and national sensitivities that have no place in modern football or society.

At a time when football should be bringing communities together, instead messages of division and exclusion have emerged, they added. “We are aware that healthy rivalry is part of sport – but mocking identity, ethnicity or regionality crosses a line that should never be accepted or normalized. We are proud of the diverse, inclusive and culturally rich community that characterizes our club, our supporters and our region. We will always stand firm against those who challenge or attack this,” they wrote.

The club asks for a full investigation into the matter.

At the same time, we call on all stakeholders in Slovak football – clubs, the league, media partners and regulators – to reconsider the values we convey in stadiums, on screens and in public. Football must remain a space where respect, dignity and equality prevail – on and off the pitch.”

We live in 21st century Central Europe. Exclusion has no place in our game, emphasized the DAC’s communiqué.

As Nemzeti Sport‘s article pointed out, you could almost cut the Hungarian hatred at the match. When the aforementioned banner appeared, the crowd of nearly 10,000 cheered in the same way as they did later when the home team scored. The smoke of the Greek fires in Slovak national colors filled the stadium and it was almost impossible to see anything. Referee Kiss even had to stop the game for seven minutes. As soon as it restarted, the home team lit a DAC flag.

Slovak media outlets did not mention any hatred from Slovaks against Hungarians at the match. Although the incident was mentioned in some articles, no one commented on the hatred, or only stated that “”Slovan supporters overdid it, the banner was a disgrace.” There was no word about the Hungarian abuse, and the Slovak Football Association also remained silent.

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