It was a party in Basle but not the one the Swiss had been hoping for as Czech fans celebrated after the
opening match of Euro 2008.
The 1-0 defeat Saturday left Swiss fans worrying that the host team might
not reach the next stage.
"We are very disappointed because we played better and because that should
have been a penalty," said Stefan Sutter, a Swiss fan from Basle.
Another Swiss fan was even more adamant: "It was definitely a penalty. I
rang my wife, who saw it on television. I think the ref will be on the
front of the newspapers."
Swiss fans were unanimous that the referee had missed a penalty, failing
to spot what they believed was a clear hand ball by a Czech player in
the box with just 10 minutes to go.
Even the Czech fans seemed to agree.
"We thought the Swiss played better than us,"
said Jaroslav Stuhala from Prague as he left the stadium.
He was happy, though. It was his only ticket for the tournament, having
arrived two hours before the game and preparing to leave the next morning.
"The referee made many bad decisions for both teams but a very
bad decision for the Swiss in the end," Stuhala said.
"It was a good result but a bad game," said Vladimir Bezdek.
"The Swiss played better than us."
Lukes Radim, another Czech, was cautious looking ahead. "We are
celebrating," he said, "but if we play like that in the next
game we will lose."
The atmosphere post-match in the city was distinctly gloomy
compared to just a couple of hours earlier, when cries of "Hop Hop
Schwiiz" ("Go go Switzerland") had filled the air. On the
tram to the stadium the whole car had been rocked as Czech
fans shouted "If you're Czech, jump, jump, jump," and duly
responded there and on the terraces.
For the Swiss, having lost the match and their captain Alex Frei
to a knee injury, the mood was as grey as the skies that had
threatened rain all day over Basle, dpa reported.