Oleksandr Hatskevich: "We were attacked by a group of unidentified young men. All of them were wearing balaclavas"

Oleksandr Hatskevich, head coach of Zaglembe from Sosnowiec, confirmed that he and his players were attacked by hooligans in Poland.

- Oleksandr Mykolayovych, how are you? Is it true that you were beaten by unknown people?

- There was a very unpleasant incident at the team's training session, let's call it that. The players and representatives of the coaching staff came out of training and a group of unknown young men attacked us. All of them were wearing balaclavas. There were 30-40 people. I didn't count exactly how many there were. These young men jumped onto the pitch and behaved very aggressively. They tried to put physical pressure on us.

- You mean they wanted to beat us?

- Probably, yes. But it was over. Most of the coaches, myself included, and almost all the team players quickly left the field. The local players, the Poles, stayed and had some kind of dialogue with these guys. They talked about something, I can't say what exactly. Not because I don't want to tell you, no. I just don't understand Polish that well. There were some complaints.

- Regarding the team's not the best results under your leadership?

- Perhaps. Honestly, I didn't understand what the point was from the words I heard in Polish.

- The most important question is: are you all right?

- Yes, I am. No bruises, no scratches. Everything is fine. After this group of unknown people left our base, we returned to the pitch and had a training session. Moreover, we finished it in a good mood.

- I take it that they were representatives of Zaglembe's ultras?

- They did not introduce themselves. They weren't wearing any insignia either. No club paraphernalia or anything like that.

The thing that outraged me the most in this situation was that we still can't get in touch with the club president. I have one very serious question for him: how could it happen that the team was attacked at its base? Why didn't the club provide security for the players and coaches in any way, at all (!)? Thank God, everything went well, but...

Viktor Hlukhenkyi