Christian Wenande
October 23rd, 2018

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There was no help to be found in France (photo: ECHR)

The European Court of Human Rights has ruled that it was ok for the Danish police to preventively detain three Danish football fans for over seven hours during Denmark’s World Cup qualifying clash with Sweden on 10 October 2009.

The three fans from Aarhus claimed that their detention was in breach of the European Human Rights Convention’s article 5 concerning the right to liberty and security.

“The Court was satisfied that the Danish courts had struck the right balance between the applicants’ right to liberty and the importance of preventing hooliganism,” the ruling (here in English) read.

“The authorities had moreover provided concrete evidence specifying the time, place and victims of the offence of hooliganism which the applicants would in all likelihood have been involved in had it not been prevented by their detention.”

READ MORE: Denmark under-21s qualify for Euro 2019

Sunk in Strasbourg
One of the key matters of contention was whether the police could hold the fans – without any charge being levelled – for over six hours, which is the maximum length normally permitted for this kind of detention. However, the law stipulates that it is possible to extend the detention period if deemed necessary.

The European Court of Human Rights ruled that there were indeed grounds for extended detention, as had the local court in Aarhus and the Western High Court.

The court in Strasbourg emphasised that the police had tried to de-escalate the situation before the fans were arrested. One of the three detained fans didn’t have a ticket to the critical game.

Denmark ended up winning the game 1-0, which qualified the team for the World Cup in South Africa in 2010.

Tauson takes a leap
Denmark’s biggest tennis starlet, Clara Tauson, has made a big jump up the junior world rankings following her dominant win at the Osaka Mayor’s Cup in Japan last weekend. The 15-year-old, who crushed Qinwen Zheng of China 6-0, 6-1 in the final, jumped seven spots in the rankings to third place. The leap puts the talent just one spot behind Caroline Wozniacki’s top junior rank from 2006, when she was second at age 16.

Madsen nets MMA legend
Mark O Madsen, the Danish Olympic wrestling silver medallist from Rio 2016, will link up with the legendary Randy Couture in his quest to make his mark in the Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) arena. Madsen will travel to the Las Vegas this week to train with Couture, who was the first world Champion in two different weight classes in the UFC and who was the fourth person to be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. Madsen’s coach is Danish MMA trailblazer Martin Kampmann, who also trained with Couture when he was still active.

Firm handball favourites
According to the bookies, the Danish men’s handball team is a firm favourite to win the upcoming World Championships, held jointly in Denmark and Germany this January. Denmark is a 9/4 favourite to win it all with Ladbrokes, followed by France, Germany, Spain, Norway, Croatia, Sweden and Hungary. Denmark has been grouped with Norway, Austria, Tunisia, Chile and Saudi Arabia.

Dolberg inks new deal
The Danish striker Kasper Dolberg has extended his contract with Ajax Amsterdam to tie to the Dutch club until 2022. The 21-year-old, who had returned from a long injury stint this season, has scored three goals in four games for Ajax in the Eredivisie this season so far and has notched 36 goals in 85 games for the giants since joining from Silkeborg in 2015. He recently made his long-awaited return to the Danish national side.

Bille in trouble again
Danish forward Nicki Bille has landed in hot water again following his arrest yesterday for allegedly threatening a person with an airgun on the walking street in Copenhagen. Bille’s club Lyngby has announced that he has been kicked out of the club. Bille has been involved in a number of negative situations in recent years, including being arrested in Monaco for violent behaviour and possession of cocaine.

He’s taking quick steps
The 21-year-old cycling talent Mikkel Frølich Honoré has signed a two-year contract with the UCI World Tour team Quick-Step following a successful trial period. Honoré, who won the Circuit de Wallonie this season and had two top-10 finishes in the Gent-Wevelgem and Eschborn-Frankfurt races, joins fellow Danes Michael Mørkøv and Kasper Asgreen on the Belgian team.

Pedalling to gold galore
Denmark enjoyed a strong finish to round 2 of the UCI Track World Cup in Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines in France over the weekend thanks to wins by Michael Mørkøv and Lasse Norman in the Men’s Madison. Earlier, Lasse Norman Hansen, Julius Johansen, Rasmus Lund and Casper Folsach had also won gold in the Men’s Team Pursuit, while Julie Leth and Amalie Didriksen triumphed in the Women’s Madison.

Crypto Caroline
The Danish tennis star Caroline Wozniacki has signed a new deal last week that meant she can soon launch her own crypto-currency token. The deal was signed with the Singaporian firm Global Crypto Offering Exchange (GCOX). The news means that Woznaicki will become the first female athlete to have her own crypto-currency token, following in the footsteps of the US pop singer Jason Derulo.

Danish tech in NFL
The Danish radar company Trackman reached a milestone last week when technology developed by the firm was implemented during an NFL game. The technology, which measures the flight of a ball in the air, has traditionally been used in connection with golfing, but the tech is now gaining a foothold in the NFL market. Trackman expects all 32 NFL teams to eventually use their technology, as well as upwards of 800 college teams.

Rosenmeier takes para table tennis gold
In a hard-fought match on Saturday afternoon, Danish para athlete Peter Rosenmeier beat Alvaro Valera of Spain to win World Championship gold in the para table tennis finals in Slovenia. The Dane won 11-8, 13-11, 12-10, regaining the title he lost to Alvaro in 2014. Afterwards Rosenmeier commented that “the title means a great deal because my goal is to win all three titles – Paralympics, World Championships and European Championships. Now I have the possibility to complete the hat-trick, maybe even on home ground next year.”