30 days' custody for the fan who knocked a child unconscious outside "Jane Sandanski": how did two fan groups end up right at the entrance?

The Criminal Court has granted the request of the Basic Public Prosecutor's Office in Skopje: the 20-year-old suspected of hitting an underage boy from the rival fan camp outside the "Jane Sandanski" sports hall in Aerodrom on Saturday will spend 30 days in custody. The blow to the head knocked the child unconscious; he fell to the ground and ended up at the "Mother Teresa" Clinical Centre with a contusion.

The picture the police and prosecutors are piecing together is simple and therefore grim. At around 19:00 several members of the "Family" fan group headed for the hall, where a group of about 50 Rabotnički fans was already standing, waiting to get into the game between MZT Skopje and Rabotnički. A fight followed, and in it - a blow to a child's head.

Proceedings have been opened for the criminal offence of violence under Article 386 of the Criminal Code. The custody order cites three reasons: flight risk, the possibility that the suspect could influence witnesses who have yet to be questioned, and the risk of reoffending.

Let's be clear about who did what. Nobody forced the 20-year-old to swing at a minor's head. A fan group isn't a natural disaster, and "the pre-match atmosphere" isn't the culprit - a blow to the head is the decision of the person who throws it. That's why the prosecutors acted quickly and why custody is a logical step, not an overreaction.

But the second part of the story mustn't be swept under the table. The game had a scheduled time, the hall is well known, and the two camps didn't appear out of nowhere. How did one group of fans reach the entrance where the rival group was already waiting? Who judged that those two groups could end up face to face before the start of a basketball game?

The boy ended up at the Clinical Centre. Custody lasts 30 days. The question of whether the next high-risk game will be prepared any differently lasts longer - and for now, nobody is answering it.