Zato nemremo imati lijepe stvari 🇭🇷 pic.twitter.com/Wk60lMDRrl
— mdflnshts (@mdflnshts) April 23, 2023
Video of a fist fight on a rally racing stage has gone viral, showing two groups of men wrestling with each other as crowds of people and racing marshals attempt to intervene, right before a rally car comes flying over the hill. According to N1 Slovenia, those responsible for the breakout in fighting were summoned to court, fined, and face a ban on returning to future rally events.
The video shows race marshals in orange jerseys failing to hold back what appears to be two groups of men in an argument. There’s a lot of face-to-face grabbing and then one man rushes up and body slams another right in the center of the road, leading to a chaotic pileup as others try to pull people away from each other. As a loud horn blares in the background, likely warning of an oncoming rally car, the group finally gets out of the way just in time for the vehicle to come literally flying past. Rally organizers reportedly claim that the dispute was over where to sit, threatening that future races could be forcibly stopped by such incidents.
The Karlovac Police Administration cited three Croatian men as responsible for the fight, aged 30, 28 and 23, according to the translated N1 article, and the men were charged with: “insolent behavior, insulting and attacking an official, participation in a physical confrontation and unauthorized entry into the competition area, with which they disturbed the peace of 500 spectators.” They also apparently violated “the Act on Offenses against Public Order and Peace,” and the “Act on the Prevention of Disorders at Sports Competitions.” Sounds like they really threw the book at them.
The Ozalj Police Station conducted a complete criminal investigation of the incident and summoned the three to court on Monday to face a judge. At the court hearing, each man was ordered to pay a fine of 760 euros with an additional 20 euros in court costs. They also face a one year ban from participation in the WRC Croatia rally. The verdict can still be appealed. As the saying goes, fight in the shade (and not the rally stage).