Polish President Karol Nawrocki has pardoned Piotr "Staruch" Staruchowicz, a well-known Legia Warsaw supporter and one of the fan leaders who direct chanting from the stands, lifting a two-year ban that had kept him out of the club's stadium.
The District Court in Lublin had imposed the ban after ruling that Staruchowicz had been "in a place not intended for spectators," a finding that stemmed from him standing on a stadium fence.
Fan's plea to the president
The case drew attention months ago after Staruchowicz personally appealed to Nawrocki for a pardon. During a phone call with the president, who was giving an interview to Kanał Zero in December last year, Staruchowicz said he was calling about what he called a private matter, explaining that he had been handed a stadium ban for standing on a fence and leading chants during a match in Lublin, even though he held accreditation issued by the match organiser. He said the court in Lublin had sentenced him to a two-year stadium ban, and asked the president whether Santa Claus would bring him a pardon that year.
Nawrocki replied that he would look into the matter early in the year.
Pardon confirmed
On 3 August, Staruchowicz was among those granted a pardon, Przegląd Sportowy Onet reported. His lawyer confirmed the decision on Twitter, writing that the president had used his autonomous prerogative of pardon that day for his second client, "the famous Staruch," freeing him from the stadium ban.
Previous incidents
Przegląd Sportowy Onet recalled that in 2010, during an attempt to honour Jan Wejchert, then a co-owner of Legia, with a minute of silence, Staruchowicz shouted "jeszcze jeden!" ("one more!") toward Mariusz Walter. He was forcibly removed from the fan section by security, and the club responded with a two-year entry ban.
The outlet also noted that Staruchowicz had further legal trouble in later years. He was accused of drug trafficking but acquitted in 2016. He was also convicted of slapping footballer Jakub Rzeźniczak, and had earlier received a suspended sentence for beating a Polonia Warszawa fan. Numerous theories about paramafia-style structures have grown up around the fan community he belongs to, and police have linked hooligan groups to organised crime.
