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| Swedish league match abandoned after Djurgarden fan dies in assault | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| A supporter of the Stockholm club Djurgarden has died from head injuries sustained in an assault before his team's opening Swedish league match at Helsingborg, police said on Sunday, with the match subsequently abandoned before half-time. | |
| "I can confirm that a person has died at Helsingborg Hospital. He was brought there after an incident at Karntrappan in central Helsingborg," a police spokesperson, Ewa-Gun Westford, told the website Fotbollskanalen. | |
| The incident occurred half an hour before kick-off on the opening weekend of the Swedish league. Rumours of the 40-year-old's death spread through the terraces 40 minutes into the match, prompting Djurgarden fans to storm on to the pitch. The referee, Martin Hansson, took the players off in the 42nd minute and a tense stand-off between police, security staff and fans ensued. | |
| A decision was taken to abandon the game with the score tied at 1-1 shortly before the police confirmed the man had died. | |
| Football in Sweden has long been plagued by violent incidents, with several matches being abandoned in recent years due to pitch invasions and fireworks being thrown on to the field. | Football in Sweden has long been plagued by violent incidents, with several matches being abandoned in recent years due to pitch invasions and fireworks being thrown on to the field. |