Around 25 people were injured in hooligan violence during a match in Basel on Friday evening between the hometown club and FC Zurich.

The Basel justice authorities said the violence initiated by Zurich fans had reached new lows.

Before the match, around 200 Zurich fans ripped out seats, and demolished refreshment stands and toilets, the Basel City justice and police department said.

Most of the injured were people who had travelled from Zurich to the match and were standing outside the stadium when they were hit by objects thrown down from the stands by other Zurich supporters.

Following the match, Basel hooligans attempted to attack fans from the rival city as well as security personnel. Two people were hospitalised, and two others were arrested.

Switzerland has been affected by football hooliganism since the start of the 1980s.

There have been serious incidents at regular intervals, affecting all almost all teams in the top division despite tougher measures introduced by the Swiss Football League in 2006.

Clubs must take the responsibility for their fans when they play away games, meaning they have to organise the ticket sales for their sections of the away stadium themselves.

The guest club also has to record the personal details of their fans as well as provide somebody from the club to accompany the supporters and note violent incidents.

The Swiss parliament also approved a raft of anti-hooligan measures that are expected to come into force from January in all cantons that ratify them.

They included a national hooligan database, travel restrictions for known troublemakers, stadia bans and 24hr preventive custody.

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