10 football clubs with the most violent fans

#2 Wisla Krakow

Having cleared the front rows for fireworks and flares, the intimidating Wisla flags mass together at the back

The Polish city of Krakow is known as ‘The City of Knives’ for its tradition of hooliganism by football fans.

Wisla Krakow’s long standing rivalry with Cracovia, dramatically christened the ‘Holy War’, has claimed a number of lives over the years. In a city defined by such a strong rivalry, simply saying or wearing the wrong thing in the wrong part of town can lead to deadly consequences. A derby match between the two teams in 1943 was interrupted by fans who decided to take the action into their own hands and decide the outcome of the match by physically assaulting each other on the football field. The fracas spilt onto the streets of Krakow and lasted for several hours.

In 1990, Polish police faced the wrath of the irate football fan when they were unduly harsh while breaking up a fight between fans of Wisla Krakow and Cracovia. Both sets of fans formed an unlikely union to wage an all-out war against the police. A group of fans then marched into the centre of Krakow, ransacking the Soviet embassy where a number of police officers had taken refuge.

Dino Baggio of Parma FC was allegedly stabbed in the head from a knife thrown by Wisla supporters in 1999.

The intensity of the violence in Krakow has not abated in recent times – eight fans lost their lives due to football related violence between 2004 and 2006. Some Wisla fans were apprehended in 2007 for having killed a fan of a small club affiliated with Cracovia.