Police in control after high drama match in Vienna

By Alexandra Hudson

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian police said they made only 12 arrests in Vienna on Friday, despite the tense finale to the Euro 2008 quarter-final which saw Turkey beat Croatia on penalties after a stoppage-time equalizer.

"The tension towards the end of the match sent emotions soaring. Some fans were bitterly disappointed and others were overjoyed," Vienna police spokesman Christian Stella told a news conference on Saturday.

"It was a dramatic twist of fortune. But the fact we had only 12 arrests among 200,000 fans in the city shows we kept things under control."

The Turks won 3-1 on penalties, having looked out of the tournament in extra time after Ivan Klasnic had given Croatia a 1-0 lead in the 119th minute.

But Semih Senturk blasted an equalizer with the last kick of the game to line up a shootout where a still shell-shocked Croatia failed to convert three out of four penalties.

Police reported minor scuffles after the game which slightly injured one supporter and one police officer. In one street, fans threw bottles, requiring Croatian and Turkish fans to be separated.

But the trouble was fuelled by drunkenness and pent-up emotion rather than by deliberate violent intent, Stella said.

The 12 arrested included Austrians, Turks and Croats, he added, without giving more specific details.

About 4,600 police were on duty on Friday, Vienna's largest security operation during the tournament so far. On Sunday, Italy take on Spain in Vienna, in Euro 2008's last quarter-final.

"Although Italian and Spanish fans also enjoy themselves we do not expect them to be quite so hot-blooded as the Turks and the Croats," said Stella.

Friday's match sparked violence in the Bosnian city of Mostar where dozens of people were admitted to hospital after Bosnian Muslim and Bosnian Croat soccer fans clashed.

Around 1,000 police cordoned off the town centre and used teargas to separate the rival fans, who hurled rocks and bottles at each other.

Many Bosnian Muslims back Turkey for historical and cultural reasons that date back to Ottoman rule in the Balkans, while Croats regard the Croatian national team as their own.

(Editing by Trevor Huggins)