Soccer fan brawls in Harrison, NJ leave minor injuries

HARRISON — Rival soccer fans broke out into some brawls while tailgating at Red Bull arena during an international doubleheader on Sunday, prompting a sizable police response.

On Monday, Harrison police cleared up lots of social media chatter that had wrongly said there were multiple stabbings.

There were periods of violent chaos before the first and second soccer matches, according to Detective Lt. Charles Schimpf.

Rocks were thrown in the parking lots outside the arena, causing minor injuries to 10 people and two police officers. All were treated and no arrests had been made as of Monday.

A request for mutual aid from surrounding towns was made during the first game and additional police units arrived to help with crowd control in between play, Schimpf said.

During the second match there were multiple altercations in the stands and the concourse, which were quickly resolved by security and police personnel inside the arena, police continued.

Based on “pregame behavior of the fans and the history of unrest between the two teams,” even more police and tactical units arrived to help clear the arena grounds after the second match was done.

Law enforcement from Hudson County, State Police and surrounding areas were there as the stadium and surrounding area was cleared of spectators without further incident.