SV Ried against LASK: Police hope for a derby that is as calm as possible

The footballers and supervisors of SV Ried and LASK are particularly “live” on Saturday evening. At 5 p.m. there will be an Upper Austria derby in the Josko Arena in Ried. But it’s not just the athletes who get their pulse up that day. The safety precautions in this risky game are great. After the most recent duel between the two rival teams in Ried on May 14, 2022, there were serious riots, especially around the Ried train station, on Saturday there was a red alert, not just around the stadium. The authorities, the police and the two Bundesliga clubs don’t want to leave anything to chance.

There is already an increased police presence in Ried. In 2021, before a derby, the Rieder training center and a wall near the stadium were smeared with black slogans.

“The police preparations for this game have basically been going on since the last derby. In the debriefing, everything is analyzed in detail in order to be as well prepared as possible for the next game,” say Ried’s district police commander Gerald Eichinger and his deputy Thomas Hasenleitner. On today’s derby day, the duo forms the police operations command.

They do not want to reveal how many officers are on duty. Among other things, a large operational unit for the large security and order service with reinforcements from Lower Austria and a standby unit will be deployed. Plainclothes officers are also on site.

According to OÖN information, around 250 police officers were on duty at the game in May 2022, and after the riots nine months ago, it will almost certainly not be less today.

The scene-expert officials (SKB) from Ried and Linz, who are in constant contact in the run-up to the derby, play an even more important role than usual in these risky games.

On Saturday from 7 a.m. several briefings will take place. The final big round is scheduled for 12.30 p.m. “We’re prepared for anything. You can’t compare a mission like that with a game against Hartberg,” say the two commanders, adding: “The cooperation between the blue light organizations, the authorities, such as the district authority and the public prosecutor’s office, and SV Ried works exceptionally well. Everything happens at eye level.”

The Rieder fans have declared the lower main square as the official meeting point from 12 p.m. on social networks. A joint march to the stadium is planned at 3 p.m. “We have to make sure that traffic isn’t massively affected, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with a fan march like this,” says Hasenleitner. In general, the “3-D rule” applies to the police: dialogue and de-escalation, if these measures don’t work, grab the “third D”, take action.

“Everything on track”

According to Leo Kiesenhofer, who is responsible for the stadium at SV Ried, there will be a patrol of the stadium and around the Josko Arena two and a half hours before the start of the game. “Everything is on track, we have the information that seven LASK fan buses are coming,” says Kiesenhofer. Many fans will also come to Ried by car or train. The away sector is sold out with 550 fans.

“We’re hoping for a peaceful derby without injuries,” says Eichinger, whose interest in football has waned significantly after more than ten years in a special unit.

It’s completely different with his deputy Hasenleitner: “I’m still very interested in football. I like Rieder despite the sporting misery and I still like being in the stadium.”