Two Minnesota Golden Gophers basketball fans were attacked and injured early Wednesday morning following the Wisconsin Badgers victory over the Gophers at the Kohl Center Tuesday night, Madison police reported.
A Badger fan was arrested for allegedly attacking the Gopher fans, in a case of "friendly banter" between rival fans going awry. Francisco Jose Rengel, 22, of Madison, was tentatively charged with substantial battery and disorderly conduct after his arrest at about 2 a.m. Wednesday in the 500 block of University Avenue, Madison police said.
One of the victims, a 24-year-old man from Waunakee, suffered a laceration to the left side of his face and a hematoma to his ear, while the other victim, a 25-year-old man from Milwaukee, suffered an injury to the bridge of his nose. According to the police report, Rengel and his friends spotted the two Gophers fans at a bar, following the Badgers' 68-60 victory over the Gophers in a men's Big 10 basketball game at the Kohl Center. "Tensions between the rival fans escalated until Rengel allegedly struck the 24-year-old man 15 to 20 times in an alley on Conklin Place," said Madison police spokesman Officer Howard Payne.
How the 25-year-old victim was injured wasn't known. Payne said the dispute "ballooned out of control," and was a bad example of how far you should go in supporting your favorite team. "This fight should never have occurred," Payne said. "Alcohol definitely contributed to a host of bad decisions being made."