So Malmö-Copenhagen became a hate meeting

April 2005, an evergreen day in Copenhagen. It is five years since the bridge connects Malmö and Copenhagen was inaugurated. Two thousand Malmö supporters have crossed the strait to see MFF visiting Copenhagen in the Royal League.

Patrik Thell is in Copenhagen together with a bunch of friends. They are on the edge of the section that gathers the majority of Malmö's supporters.

The match is up and running when a group of black-clad men pass the gang, they see earbuds, batons and guns. One of the friends knocks one of the black-clad men on his shoulder. He asks, “Are you a swat team? (American expression for specially trained police officers).

At about the same time, Copenhagen's Sibusiso Zuma makes 2-1 the home team.

- Two minutes later it breaks loose. It has stuck in my head, it was like the start signal, ”says Patrik Thell.

He escapes the blows from the Danish police. But notice that it gets tumultuous on the stand.

- People start throwing beer mugs at the pitch to stop the match. We try to make Mattias Asper (MFF's then goalkeeper) aware of what is happening behind his back, says Patrik Thell.

The match continues. Several Malmö supporters are injured, some seriously. A supporter has received repeated blows to the head with baton.

- The talk starts to go on the stand, but you do not really understand what happened until afterwards in the car on the way home. Now in retrospect, I dare not think about how bad it could have actually been, says Patrik Thell.

Mikael Blomberg works in the mid-00s as a public host for MFF. In his spare time he stands in his orange vest and assists MFF supporters during both home and away matches. The Royal Leauge match at Parken is no exception.

- I had a strange feeling in my stomach even before the game. On the way to the Park, a few kilometers from the arena, our car was stopped by Danish police. We said that we were a bunch of public hosts who would work on the match but were still asked to get out of the car. They visited both us and the car before we were allowed to leave. Why we never got an answer to that, he says.

The match goes on behind his back as he oversees the away crowd. He sees nothing unusual. Someone is upset, but most people sing loud and cheer on their team.

Then he sees the black-clad people on the stand, and solidifies. He thinks about the problems FCK has had with hooligans, and so he sees the blows.

He tries to gesture to the supporters to move, to beware, but it is difficult to do more than that on the other side of the billboards.

- It is completely impossible to say how long it lasted. It was probably only a few minutes, but it felt like much longer, says Mikael Blomberg.

He has a hard time remembering when he realizes that there are police involved in the riot.

Then he feels that it will be calm. The match continues. Not until he comes home does he understand what actually happened.

The incidents were reported to police by MFF supporters. A legal process started and went on for three years. Chief Prosecutor Lise-Lotte Nilas stated that a police officer who hit a supporter in the head with a baton acted "extremely blameworthy." However, no charge of assault was ever brought.

The evidence from the supporters consisted of surveillance films from the Park, photographs and testimonials from supporters. Malmö FF as an association assisted with some of the costs involved in the legal process.

Flemming Östergaard, then chairman of the FCK, then accused Malmöfansen of provoking police violence.

"They didn't watch football, but were more interested in arguing," he said.

But this year, before the first Europa League meeting between the teams, Östergaard had changed his mind.

- I would like to apologize to Malmö FF's fans. The information I received from the police blamed the Swedes, but the prosecutor's investigation showed that it was not correct. I was too quick to blame MFF's fans, he told the Danish newspaper Copenhagen Sundays.

On December 12, Malmö FF is back at the Park, for the first time since 2005. Patrik Thell and Mikael Blomberg are some of the fans returning. Mikael Blomberg has managed to pick one of the coveted tickets in MFF's official heels. Patrick Thell will sit on neutral stands.

- I can't have anything on me that shows that I sympathize with Malmö FF. But it's very important for me to be there and support my team. I've been waiting for this day for 15 years. There are many emotions that will be released in there, he says.

When the Europa League was drawn in August, Patrick Thell was at work. When MFF ended up in the same group as Copenhagen, he ran out into the corridor.

- I just roared. Finally, maybe we can get it fixed. I, and many others, have longed to meet Copenhagen in the Park. I hope it gets quiet inside the arena and that people do what we are there for. To sing out and support our team. Make 2005 ten times better, says Patrik Thell.

A Malmö win at the Park is bigger than the MFF then also reaches the 16-part final in the Europa League, according to Mikael Blomberg. How it gets around the game he is less sure, he is not afraid but feels worried.

- I don't walk around in MFF clothes on the town before the match, but I'm not afraid either. I'm a little worried this time something will happen and I think things will happen too, unfortunately, says Mikael Blomberg.