DAC 1904 Dunajská Streda faced reigning champion Slovan Bratislava in the first division of the Slovakian football league on Saturday, 12 April, in Pozsony (Bratislava), Slovakia.
The date happened to coincide with the memorial day for ethnic Hungarians displaced from Felvidék (Upper Lands), the Southern part of Slovakia that historically belonged to Hungary and thus still has a high ethnic Hungarian population. The ultras for Slovan Bratislava seized on the opportunity, and displayed a giant banner which mockingly referred to Hungary as ‘Mongolia’. They also held up a message beneath the offensive banner, which read ‘Slovensko, krajina Slovákov a fanúšikov Slovana’, which translates to ‘Slovakia is the country of Slovakians and Slovan-fans’.
The European football association UEFA has been very strict on discriminatory chants and messaging from fans in recent years, so there is a real chance Slovan and their ultras will have significant consequences. However, what is concerning is that the local media did not spend any time covering or condemning the incident in their initial reporting of the game.
The Dunaszerdahely (Dunajská Streda) football team announced that they are filing an official complaint with the Slovakian Football Association (SFZ) on Sunday. This development did merit some coverage in the Slovak media.
In their press release, the club wrote:
‘DAC 1904 are expressing their profound disappointment and concern about the events that took place during our game against Slovan on 12 April—especially the tifo displayed by the home fans, which we not only find inappropriate, but also offensive, discriminatory, and divisive.
This tifo was not just mocking our club—it touched on ethnic, cultural, and national sensitivities that have no place in modern football or society. This happened at a time when football should be bringing communities together, but messages of division and exclusion were propagated instead…
We intend to file a formal complaint with the Slovak Football Association (SFZ) and request a full investigation into the matter. We expect appropriate action to be taken in accordance with the SFZ’s own regulations and the relevant national and international anti-discrimination standards. At the same time, we call on all people involved in Slovak football—clubs, the league, media partners and regulators—to reconsider the values we convey in stadiums, on screens, and in public.’
The actual game between DAC and Slovan ended in a 2–2 tie. After a goalless first half, DAC took a two-goal lead by the 62nd minute with Karol Blaško and Viktor Đukanović scoring. However, Slovan managed to level the scoreline. Zuberu Sharani scored in 77th minute, then Tigran Barseghyan found the equalizer in the 84th minute.
With that, Slovan Bratislava maintains an 11-point lead on top of the table, and are on their way to their seventh consecutive league title (which would be the 15th in their history). Meanwhile, FC DAC 1904 are sitting in fourth place in the championship play-off of the league.
Máté Tuboly, the only Hungarian who played in the controversial game, has told the Hungarian sports daily Nemzeti Sport: ‘We are disappointed cause we had the game in our hands.’ About the provocation of the home fans, he had this to say: ‘It should have made us even more eager and motivated, we should have punished them by winning.’
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