Hungary–Slovakia football rivalry
| Other names | Battle for Danube |
|---|---|
| Locale | Central Europe UEFA |
| Teams |  Hungary Slovakia |
| First meeting | Slovakia 0-0 Hungary UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying (31 March 1999) |
| Latest meeting | Hungary 1–2 Slovakia UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying (September 9, 2019) |
| Next meeting | TBD |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 6 |
| Most wins | Slovakia (4) |
| Most player appearances | Balázs Dzsudzsák, Marek Hamšík (3) |
| All-time series | Hungary: 0 Draw: 2 Slovakia: 4 |
| Largest victory | Hungary 1-2 Slovakia UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying (9 September 2019) |
The Hungary–Slovakia football rivalry is a highly competitive sports rivalry exists between the national football teams of the two countries, as well as their respective sets of fans. Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents; though the rivalry is mostly described as less tense comparing than Hungary's rivalries with Serbia and Romania. These matches are also called "Battle for Danube."[citation needed]
Relations[edit]
Hungary and Slovakia are two neighboring countries in Central Europe. There are two major periods of official foreign relations between them in contemporary history. The first period included relations between the Kingdom of Hungary and the first Slovak Republic in 1939-1945. The second period has started in 1993, when the countries again established diplomatic relations, the year when Slovakia became independent of Czechoslovakia. Hungary has an embassy in Bratislava and a general consulate in Košice (Hungarian: Kassa), and Slovakia has an embassy in Budapest and a general consulate in Békéscsaba.
After the first break-up of Czechoslovakia in March 1939, Hungary was the first state which officially recognized the independent Slovakia. Subsequently, Hungary and Slovakia established embassies in Bratislava and Budapest and kept diplomatic relations during the World War Two. Despite a formal alliance inside the Berlin pact (1940) and a common war against the Anti-Hitler coalition, Slovak-Hungarian political relations maintained on the brink of war due to the frontier dispute and the oppression of Slovak minority in Hungary and Hungarian minority in Slovakia. The restoration of Czechoslovakia and the liquidation of the independent Slovakia in 1945 led to the end of the first period of Hungary-Slovakia's relations.
Nowadays, both countries are full members of the European Union, NATO and of the Visegrád group. They share 676 kilometres (420 mi) of common borders. There are approximately 520,000[1] persons of Hungarian descent living in Slovakia (about 9.7% of its population) and around 39,266 persons of Slovak descent living in Hungary (about 0.38% of its population).[note 1] There have been frequent minor diplomatic conflicts between the two countries.
Slovak riot police beating of Hungarian football fans[edit]
On 1 November 2008, a football match between DAC Dunajská Streda and Slovan Bratislava was disrupted by Slovak riot police after only 15 minutes injuring more than 60 people, many of whom lost consciousness or suffered injuries including concussion and broken jaws.[2] Local policemen stormed Hungarian nationals, who were at the game to support the home team and to protest the burning of a Hungarian flag at an earlier game.[2] flags with Árpád stripes, favoured by the extreme right in Hungary, were being waved and the home crowd sang the Hungarian national anthem before kickoff.[2]
According to The Budapest Times press report from the scene, police failed to act against Slovan supporters who were throwing smoke bombs, noise grenades and other missiles on the pitch.[2] An official press release indicates that police arrested 31 people. 16 of them were citizens of Hungary (not playing the match), 15 citizens of Slovakia and 13 of them were fans of Slovan.[3] Before the football match, police confiscated various pyrotechnics and potential attack tools. Slovak authorities also prevented incoming of Hungarian rock band Romantikus erőszak (Romantic violence) who had to play the same evening. An organizer of the concert, who organized also journey of Hungarian football fans in this case, did not cross borders as well.[3] Organisation People Against Racism recorded various provocations from DAC fans supported by fans from Hungary, including raising flags with historical maps or chanting "Slovaks, you have no home". On the other hand, they recorded manifestation of extreme nationalism among Slovan fans like symbols of Hlinka Guard.[4] Due to this reason, police arrested two fans from Bratislava.
Based on videos posted on the internet showing the incident from various angles the supporters were not doing anything that would warrant such an intervention by police.[2] Five days after the game the Slovak police presented a photo as evidence, showing one of the supporters raising his fist to throw a punch, but police officers can not be seen on the image.[2] Spontaneous demonstrations were held in Budapest at the embassy and the consulate of Slovakia on the night of the incident.[2] Protesters lit candles to honor the victims and burned a Slovak flag.[2]
List of matches[edit]
Statistics[edit]
| Matches | Hungary wins |
Draws | Slovakia wins |
Goal difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 2:7 |
Games[edit]
| 31 March 1999 2000 UEFA EURO Qualifying Group 7 | Slovakia | 0–0 | Hungary | Bratislava, Slovakia |
| 18:00 | [1] | Stadium: Tehelné pole Attendance: 19,452 Referee: Claude Colombo (France) |
| 9 June 1999 2000 UEFA EURO Qualifying Group 7 | Hungary | 0–1 | Slovakia | Győr, Hungary |
| 20:15 | [2] | Fabuš  53' |
Stadium: ETO Park Attendance: 16,500 Referee: Manuel Díaz Vega (Spain) |
| 30 November 2004 2004 King's Cup Semi-final | Slovakia | 1–0 | Hungary | Bangkok, Thailand |
| 16:15 UTC+7 | Andrej Porázik 48' |
[3] | Attendance: 500 Referee: Veerapool (Netherlands) |
| 6 February 2008 International Friendly | Slovakia | 1–1 | Hungary | Limassol, Cyprus |
| 18:00 | Stanislav Šesták 64' |
[4] | Zoltán Gera 54' |
Stadium: Tsirion Stadium Attendance: 100 Referee: Leontios Trattou (Cyprus) |
| 21 March 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | Slovakia | 2–0 | Hungary | Trnava, Slovakia |
| 20:45 | Ondrej Duda 42' Albert Rusnák 85' |
Report | Stadium: Štadión Antona Malatinského Attendance: 14,235 Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (Russia) |
| 9 September 2019 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying | Hungary | 1–2 | Slovakia | Budapest, Hungary |
| 20:45 | Dominik Szoboszlai 50' |
Report | Róbert Mak 40' Róbert Boženík 56' |
Stadium: Groupama Arena Referee: Antonio Mateu Lahoz (Spain) |
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ↑ C.M. Breuning, Eleonore; Dr. Lewis, Jill; Pritchard, Gareth (2005). Power and the people: a social history of Central European politics, 1945-56. Manchester University Press. p. 146. ISBN 9780719070693. Search this book on
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Leitner, Attila (2008-11-10). "Hungarians attacked". The Budapest Times. Retrieved 2010-06-04.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Kritický zápas si vyžiadal desiatky zranených". Sme. 2008-11-01. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
- ↑ "Report about manifestation of racism antisemitism, nationalism, neo-Nazism and other types of intolerance on football stadiums, People Against Racism" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-04. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
- ↑ According to 2001 Hungarian census Archived 2010-01-17 at WebCite
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