Athletic Club celebrated their progress to the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday night, after a 2-0 win over Rangers at San Mames in the second leg. However those celebrations were marred by clashes between fans and police.
Before the match, there was concern in Bilbao about the visit with Rangers, albeit more so regarding the local ultras than the Scottish traveling support, following trouble with between Roma and Athletic fans in the previous round. Around 4,500 Rangers fans visited the Basque capital, with 2,900 possessing a ticket.
As per Relevo, the protocol was skipped on Thursday night, with Rangers fans exiting into the street before the area was cleared of Athletic fans. In an attempt to separate the fans, local police force Ertzaintza began charging the fans. Hundreds of police also used rubber bullets to disperse both sets of fans – Athletic fans also threw bottles and set off fireworks in their direction.
The Athletic fans then made a ‘barricade’ of burning bins between them and the police. In total, 12 police were injured in the incidents, although the seriousness of those injuries was not clear. Six arrests were made, two from the United Kingdom, and four were locals, between the ages of 17 and 37. Three of them are accused of breaching the peace, while the other three are accused of attacking an agent of the police force.
Trouble between rival fan groups has been a recurring and concerning theme in the Basque Country this season. In addition to stabbings taking place in Rome due to clashes between fans, there was also violence in Donostia-San Sebastian when Lazio visited in January. Given San Mames will be hosting the final in May, UEFA will no doubt be keeping a close eye on how things are being handled in Bilbao ahead of the main event.
