Brawls broke out in the Basque country ahead of Wednesday night's Europa League Final between Tottenham and Manchester United fans
The Basque regional police force confirmed this morning it made no arrests yesterday despite incidents involving Manchester United and Tottenham fans. An ugly brawl erupted between the two sets of supporters in San Sebastian ahead of tonight’s Europa League final in nearby Bilbao.
They were filmed squaring up to each other before hurling missiles including glasses and wheelie bins in a spat that started just before 9.30pm in San Sebastian’s Old Town. Several fans are said to have been identified by the Ertzaintza, the Basque Country’s police force.
But a spokesman for the force confirmed this morning no arrests had been made in either San Sebastian or Bilbao, where boisterous Spurs fans were seen destroying two traffic lights yesterday afternoon.
He said: “In relation to the incidents arising out of the celebration of the Europa League final we have no information on any serious occurrences. No-one has been seriously injured and there have been no arrests so far.
“It’s true there was a fight in San Sebastian’s Old Town which started for reasons that are still being investigated and which involved the throwing of missiles by two rival groups. But that incident didn’t lead to any arrests.”
Bilbao City Hall, which employs officers who belong to a municipal police force which is a separate force to the Ertzaintza and is also responsible for policing the Europa League event, was unable to say early this morning whether its agents had made any arrests.
As well as last night’s incidents in San Sebastian, an ugly fight took place yesterday between two groups of supporters at a bar in the port city of Santander an hour’s drive west of Bilbao.
Footage of the punch-up at the Siboney Cafe showed a group of young Manchester United supporters goading two Spurs fans believed to be a father and son. One stuck his middle finger up at the pair as he walked by them, leading to a brief orgy of violence which took a turn for the worse when a second older man thought to be related to one of the youngsters who had been goading the Spurs supporters got involved.
The same group of United fans were also blamed for another fight shortly afterwards in a nearby bar called Tribeca.
A spokesman for the National Police in Cantabria, which covers Santander, confirmed today: “We responded to the incident at Siboney Cafe but when officers reached the scene there was nothing and none of those involved in the fight were present.
“We haven’t received any formal complaint from anyone and we’re not aware anyone was seriously injured in the incident.
“Last night was very quiet in Santander with no arrests linked to disturbances arising out of the Europa League celebrations to report.”