Club acts against flares
Swiss League club Zurich Grasshoppers is to close the fan section of its home stadium for one game after flares were lit at an away match on Sunday.
Fans at the game in Lausanne ignored a warning by the club president Roland Leutwiler broadcast over loudspeakers at the ground.
Leutwiler told the local Zurich radio station Radio 24 on Monday that it was necessary to speak to fans “in a language they understand”.
He said the club would bear the financial consequences of the closure of the section, which holds about 1,000 people.
The Grasshoppers website said further measures were also being considered.
The city of Zurich, which owns the Letzigrund stadium where Grasshoppers play, welcomed the club’s decision. A spokesman told the Swiss News Agency that it was good the club authorities had recognised the problem.
But he said all parties had to be involved in finding a solution.
In October, fighting between fans of Grasshoppers and FC Zurich forced the abandonment of a match between them.
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