Two fugitives suspected of involvement in a knife attack in Hungary that left Romanian handball international Marian Cozma dead and two of his team-mates seriously injured were arrested by Austrian police , authorities confirmed Monday.
Acting on an international arrest warrant issued from Hungary, Austrian police on Sunday night stopped a Hungarian car on a motorway bound for Italy, dpa reported.
They arrested the 29-year-old fugitive Sandor Raffael, 31-year-old Gyozo Nemeth and the 37-year-old driver, the girlfriend of one of the suspects. The two Hungarian men both have previous convictions for violent crime.
After speaking to his Austrian colleagues, head of criminal investigations with Veszprem County police, Peter Derzsy, said the suspects could be handed over by the end of next week.
A third suspect in the killing, 22-year-old Ivan Sztojka, was still at large on Monday afternoon and Hungarian police said that they expected many more suspects to be implicated in the crime as the investigation progresses.
Cozma was stabbed in the heart during an altercation outside a nightclub before dawn on Sunday morning in the normally peaceful Hungarian town of Veszprem.
His Serbian team-mate at MKB-Veszprem, Zarko Sesum, was kicked unconscious after rushing to Cozma's aid and required reconstructive surgery on a fractured cheekbone.
The team's Croatian goalkeeper Ivan Pesic, 23, was stabbed from behind in the fracas and had to undergo emergency surgery to remove a damaged kidney.
Reports suggest that the handball players, who were out celebrating the birth of a team member's child, may have got caught in the crossfire in a dispute among Hungarian Roma criminals.
The left-wing daily Nepszabadsag, citing eye-witness reports, wrote on Monday that a gang of some 15 to 20 had entered the bar where the attacks occurred in search of another Roma man with whom they had a score to settle.
Amongst thousands of mourners who turned out to pay tribute to the murdered Cozma on Sunday evening were members of a controversial extreme-right group, the paramilitary "Hungary Guard".
The leader of Veszprem County's Gypsy Minority Council, Janos Kozak, on Monday urged people to "judge (the culprits) for what they have done, not for their backgrounds."
The attack sent shockwaves throughout Hungary and neighbouring countries and stunned handball fans across Europe.
The mood in Romania in the wake of Cozma's murder was summed up by the words of the president of the Romanian Handball Federation.
"I'm crying for his (Cozma's) youth and for what he would have meant for Romanian Handball," said Cristian Gatu.
While there was relief in Serbia and Croatia that their players survived the attack, it was mixed with feelings of anger.
A Romanian news website reported that the father of the injured Serb player Zarko Sesum had spoken of mustering an armed group with a view to seeking revenge in Hungary.
The Serbian foreign minister, in Budapest on Monday for a scheduled meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, was quick to dismiss the reports.
"There are no paramilitary forces in Serbia, nor will there be," Vuk Jeremic said.
The prevailing mood was one of shock and bewilderment at the senseless attack.
"I'm amazed that something like this could happen...Who are the people who attacked them and why?" said Serbian goalkeeper Dragan Peric, who also plays for MKB-Veszprem.
"I would never expect something like this to happen in Hungary, an orderly and calm country," said Danijel Andjelkovic, a member of the Serbian national team who plays for Szeged in southern Hungary.
MKB-Veszprem is due to play a Champions League game against the Spanish handball team Ademar Leon next Sunday.
The club has decided to go ahead with the match despite the tragedy.