Two fans have been arrested after they allegedly assaulted a police officer during an argument in the stands before Friday’s FIFA World Cup opener between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina in Toronto.
Two Bosnian fans arrested on suspicion of assaulting police officer
Two fans attending Friday’s FIFA World Cup game between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina were arrested 50 minutes before kickoff on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. Canada drew 1-1 with Bosnia at Toronto Stadium, with Cail Larin emerging as a national hero with his late equalizing goal.
Larin’s goal canceled out Bosnia forward Jovo Lukic’s opener, but Canada squandered several other chances for its first World Cup victory. Trouble reignited elsewhere in Toronto on Friday, with activists holding demonstrations targeting FIFA and Israel.
The atmosphere on match day was relatively peaceful, with Canadian and Bosnian fans largely enjoying the occasion, but two supporters were ejected and arrested before kickoff. Toronto police confirmed that two men, members of a group of Bosnian supporters, were arrested at 2:10 p.m. ET, less than an hour before the game started.
Authorities said they were called just after 2 p.m. to reports of a disturbance inside the stands. Police who attended the scene said that two officers were assaulted and suffered minor injuries.
Both fans have been charged with assaulting a police officer, but no injuries were reported in the initial altercation in the stands. Despite being Canada’s home match and their first home match at the FIFA World Cup, Bosnian fans turned out in droves, with up to 30,000 people estimated to have traveled to Toronto.
An estimated 10,000 Bosnian fans gathered at Toronto Stadium, with thousands more heading to Ontario to enjoy the occasion. Many supporters now live elsewhere with a large contingent based in Toronto, while others have made the long journey from Bosnia’s homeland. Considering that the average monthly salary in Bosnia is about $800, this was no small financial burden.
Mirror US Sports caught up with the two Bosnian fans on the eve of the World Cup opener, both of whom now call Sweden home. They revealed they splurged 10,000 euros (approximately $11,500) each on flights to Toronto and Los Angeles purely to attend the two games.
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It may extend to World Cup spending, but one supporter, Sinan, did not think about the majority of “true fans” back home. “We actually live in Sweden, so we took the train to Copenhagen, Denmark,” Sinan explained.
“So today I flew to Toronto. But will it cost around 10,000 euros?” When asked about the pricing of the World Cup, Sinan added: “It’s really too expensive. I think by pricing like this we’re missing out on real fans. But like everything else, nowadays it’s all about money.”
Despite the eye-watering cost of this summer’s World Cup, Bosnia only qualified for one, in 2014. Although they managed to pick up a solitary victory, they were eliminated in the group stage, although both teams could have shared the spoils in Friday’s 1-1 draw.
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Four points are widely expected to be enough to advance, with 48 countries taking part in the World Cup and eight of the top 12 third-placed nations advancing. Canada will face Qatar in the second game and are highly expected to aim for their first World Cup victory.
Bosnia must first face fellow Group B rivals Switzerland. The World Cup is always full of surprises, but Switzerland, Canada and Bosnia are widely favorites to reach the round of 32 if they claim the expected results.
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