Poland’s League Matches to Be Played Behind Closed Doors

May 13, 2011 The Polish Football Association PZPN board decided yesterday that all league games in the Ekstraklasa, and Leagues I and II for will take place without visiting supporters until the end of the 2010-211 season. The PZPN also called on Poland's provincial football associations, which oversee League III downwards, to move to bar away fans. The decision, which was taken at the request of Poland's police chief, came after the Prime Minister of Poland, Donald Tusk staged a meeting on Wednesday with the heads of Poland's 16 first division Ekstraklasa clubs in an effort to curb hooliganism in the build up to UEFA Euro 2012. Tusk and the Ekstraklasa chairmen were joined at the meeting by Poland's Sports Minister, Adam Giersz, Deputy Interior Minister Adam Rapacki and the PZPN Chairman Grzegorz Lato. "I stressed that we will be acting in several directions, as has been the case for the last two weeks," Tusk said at the meeting. Fans rioted after Legia Warsaw beat rival Lech Poznan 5-4 on penalties in the Polish Cup Final in the northwestern city of Bydgoszcz last week. Poland, which will co-host Euro 2012 with Ukraine, has already come under fire from UEFA over the behavior of its fans. More than twenty hooligans involved in recent stadium unrest have been arrested so far. Source: The Warsaw Voice