BERLIN, May 15 (UPI) -- A 1,000-man police force failed to prevent violence between hooligans at a soccer match in Berlin, Germany.
Some 6,471 people attended the Saturday afternoon derby between BFC Dynamo Berlin and FC Union Berlin; then, in the 76th minute, things got out of control.
Hooligans from the BFC fan block took the field, charging the Union supporters; the roughly 1,000 police agents deployed to safeguard the match stood and watched -- as did the private security agents hired by the clubs, according to the Berliner Zeitung newspaper.
The hooligans threw stones and bottles at each other, and began a mass brawl.
"The police was a miserable failure; I'm scared when I think about the World Cup," Mario Weinkauf, president of the BFC, told the newspaper.
The international soccer tournament kicks off in less than four weeks, and hooliganism is a major security concern for officials.
Observers say roughly 600 fans ready to commit violence were in the stadium Saturday. Several people were injured and 33 were arrested. Videos of the violence will likely lead to more arrests, the police have said.
"This is a dark day for Berlin soccer," Union Manager Christian Beeck said.
