You can't be a sports fan and have a conscience, Part Two: European Soccer, What the HELL?

Second in a continuing series of sports fandom without conscience, and, for this one, we head to the increasing chaos in European soccer.

First incident:  UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

Monaco was playing Borussia Dortmund in Germany Tuesday (April the 11^th).

Or, at least they were scheduled to.

Two hours before game time, their team bus was the site of an explosion set off in Dortmund by somebody, sending a defenseman to surgery to repair a broken wrist suffered in the attack.

The police say they are not sure (or at least weren't yesterday) as to it's cause.

Come on.

You know better than this.

If no one else will say it, I will: An “ultra” tried to take out the team. They do have an “Islamist” arrested as a function of a terrorist investigation, but a true terrorism situation would not be unlike the situation which befell a similar match in Paris a year or two back.

Don't be stupid, people. Maybe it's because of the unique circumstances of my life, but, especially in a sport where it is seen as the lifeblood of many lives in an increasingly fractured Europe, it would not be any surprise that a stalker (known in the parlance, especially in a larger group, as a team's “ultras”) would attempt such a heinous act.

If he's guilty of the situation, hang the bastard – yes, he needs to be held responsible for what he did, if he did it.

That said, doesn't the target kind of strike you as odd, if it's a pure terrorism situation?

The game was postponed to Wednesday the 12^th, and German fans were asked to aid in the housing and spirits of visiting Monaco fans, and, according to Deadspin, many responded positively.

Monaco WON the match, in a major upset, 3-2. The second leg will be in two weeks in Monaco, and, under the rules, Borussia Dortmund must win the match, and by two goals, or by one goal and score at least three.

This is because of the “away goal” rule. To prevent many ties from going to extra time and penalties, the rule in UEFA is, if a two-legged tie is drawn, the goals each team scores away are compared to break the tie. Only if that also is tied is extra time played.

So Borussia Dortmund either needs a 2-0 win or a win with 3 or more goals. Should be interesting.

If that were the only incident recently, it'd be disturbing.

European soccer has, apparently, had two further incidents in the same week of disturbances, indicating a boiling pot of violence about to go over:

Lyon (France) and Besiktas (Turkey) were both formally charged by UEFA after a crowd brawl delayed the Europa League quarterfinal-tie match between the two sides in France.

Lyon was charged for allowing the fans to intermix (basically, lack of security), fireworks, blocked staircases, and a pitch invasion after the game-winning goal for the 2-1 victory.

Besiktas was charged for fireworks, throwing things, and disturbances in the crowd.

The match was delayed 45 minutes because of the pre-match "festivities".  One can only wonder, with the reputation of Turkish football (both in match-fixing and the fact that Turkish teams have no qualms about killing opposing fans to gain an advantage in a Cup fixture!), how much the rematch in Turkey will be a flashpoint.

And then, on Saturday, Lyon had another incident, but this time it was in a domestic match with FC Bastia, where the FC Bastia fans had some of their number run onto the pitch and attack the Lyon players in warmups.

The match, delayed an hour, eventually was abandoned at halftime when they tried it again! (Deadspin)

Disciplinary committees from both organizations will investigate their respective incidents.