Standard Liege beat Charleroi 3-1 in the 33rd round of the Jupiler Pro League, the Belgian D1 championship. But as is often the case when these clubs face each other, the atmosphere was electric between fans of both sides in the stands of the Sclessin Stadium.
The match was interrupted for a few minutes after smoke was thrown on the pitch. But the situation got worse when fans of the Charleroi Zebras sent a dozen dead rats painted in red (Standard’s colors) in the direction of their Walloon rivals. The Storm Ultras, one of Charleroi’s main groups, were dressed as rat killers and unfurled a banner with the words “rat killers”.
Standard will report the incident to the authorities
In the days leading up to the game, they had already launched hostilities on social networks, comparing their Standard counterparts to rats. “After the floods, and even more so since the streetcar works have accelerated in Liege, the rats are out. The people of Liège who walk in the daytime or in the evening in the streets of the “Cité Ardente” have noticed it”, they wrote.
Standard was very indignant: “Some Charleroi ‘supporters’ have thrown dead rats in the direction of T2. We’re not talking about one or two rats, but easily a dozen. We hope that the Pro League will act, that our club will file a complaint and that the animal associations will get involved,” wrote a Facebook page of Standard supporters. “Hooded spectators dressed in de-raters’ outfits threw these rats in the direction of T2, a stand occupied by families and people with reduced mobility,” said “disgusted”, a supporter of Standard to RTL-Tvi television.
The club Standard Liege, which confirmed the incidents, may bring the case to the authorities of the Jupiter Pro League.