Anger in Poland after Legia Warsaw players arrested in Netherlands (Updated)

Two Legia Warsaw players were arrested by Dutch police following the Polish soccer team’s Europa Conference League match at AZ Alkmaar on Thursday, officials said, prompting an angry reaction in Poland.

The police said they had detained a 28-year-old from Serbia and a 33-year-old from Portugal after the Group E gameat the AZ Stadium, which Alkmaar won 1-0.

“After the match, two Legia Warsaw players injured AZ employees who then needed medical care. These players have been detained on abuse charges,” the police, the prosecutors and the city of Alkmaar said in a joint statement.

According to Polish media reports the players concerned are Radovan Pankov and Josue. They were pulled off the team coach and taken to a police station, police said.

The two players were released on Friday afternoon and have returned to Poland but remain suspects, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported, citing the players’ lawyer.

Other Legia players and officials also turned violent when they were held up inside the stadium as police tried to escort Polish fans away from the ground, the local authorities said in their statement.

“Polish media are creating an image that players were the victim of police, but that’s far from the truth. The players themselves were violent,” the statement said.

Legia Warsaw fans had already attacked the police before the match, knocking one officer in riot gear unconscious as they stormed the stadium’s entry gate.

European soccer’s governing body UEFA said in a statement that it had appointed inspectors to investigate the incidents.

TVP reported that Legia president and owner Dariusz Mioduski was hit in the face by police while several members of Legia staff were hit with batons.

The incident caused waves at the highest level in Poland.

“I have ordered the foreign ministry to take urgent diplomatic action to verify the events of the night,” Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

“Polish players and fans must be treated in accordance with the law.”