With just over a quarter of an hour left to play in last Sunday's Stockholm derby between Hammarby and Djurgården, the match was interrupted due to fireworks and pyrotechnics thrown onto the pitch by parts of the Djurgården crowd.
After a match meeting and a long delay, the police decided to dissolve the public event, which meant that the match would be played to completion without an audience. This was because the police believed that the organizer, Hammarby, could not guarantee safety.
The decision was later made to complete the match on Monday without an audience.
"Hard to assess"
After the derby in Stockholm, it has been written on social media that IFK Göteborg's supporters might consider doing something similar during tonight's match away against Malmö FF. This is to prevent Malmö supporters from celebrating a potential championship title with their players.
We are also aware of that information, but it's hard to assess how great a risk it is. It's a scenario we have to consider when planning for the match, says MFF's security chief Peter Narbe.
We're taking precautions because it's a risk, even if we see it as a small risk, he continues.
Mats Karlsson, head of the intelligence unit at the police in region South, is the commanding officer for the police's special operation in connection with tonight's match. He is the one who – in theory – can make the same decision as in Stockholm if safety is compromised at the stadium in Malmö.
Sporting results are not something we can weigh in our authority's assessment. The fact that it can affect a result is something we cannot take into account. I understand the dilemma of football – that supporters could influence. But we're looking at safety and nothing else, says Mats Karlsson to TT.
"Working very actively"
MFF's home matches against the three Stockholm teams – Hammarby, Djurgården, and AIK – as well as IFK Göteborg during a season are considered high-risk matches.
Karlsson emphasizes that the police have a constant and good dialogue with MFF even during the matches.
In many cases, things are sorted out before we say anything. The organizers are working very actively, says Mats Karlsson.
The match at the stadium in Malmö kicks off at 19.10.
