Club supporter seriously injured after collision in Groot-Bijgaarden, public prosecutor is investigating aggression incident

Saturday evening around 23.30 hours something went wrong in the highway parking lot of Groot-Bijgaarden. The Locals 78 supporters federation stopped for a quick bite to eat, says chairman Frederik van Eenoo. “There was nothing to eat in the Union stadium. Supporters asked to stop at the next parking lot. The match was not seen as a risk match, so we were allowed to stop there without any problem.”

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Some supporters ordered a sanitary stop or went to get something to eat. Eenoo chairman noticed a commotion when he came out of the shop. “I saw a group of supporters walking towards a car with a Polish number plate. Did the drivers yell something? I don’t know. The driver may have panicked and started backing up. At that moment Theo passed. He was grabbed by the car, which therefore drove ahead over Theo.”

Driver approached aggressively

According to witnesses, the car left immediately. The federal police and the road police arrived on the spot to make observations. Police and prosecutors launched an investigation last night. On the basis of the camera images that the public prosecutor has already been able to view, it appears that 10 to 20 people, presumably supporters of Club Brugge, aggressively approached the driver of a white van at one point.

“The driver managed to drive away, but then the suspected supporters turned to another person in another vehicle, the investigation shows this is the brother of the driver of the white van. They attack him, give him a few blows, trying to pull him out of his vehicle, and kicking and hitting his vehicle.”

Trying to escape

“He hit two of the supporters as he drove away, but it seems that this was not so much intentional as the result of his attempt to escape their aggression,” the prosecutor added. One of the supporters was able to go home after being treated in hospital, the other has broken several ribs and a partial collapsed lung and is still in hospital.

The drivers of both vehicles involved have contacted the police themselves to report the facts. It concerns two Ukrainians, and not two Poles as previously reported.

different story

The story circulated on social media that Anderlecht supporters allegedly attacked the blue and black supporters. The prosecutor’s office denies that. “As far as the public prosecutor’s office knows, it is not about Anderlecht supporters. The person who hit the two people has meanwhile been questioned by the police, and the public prosecutor has also appointed a law doctor and traffic expert.”

“The man’s statements are consistent with the camera images, with the injuries to his face, and with the first findings of the traffic expert who investigated the damage to his vehicle, so he was allowed to dispose after questioning.”