LONDON • England's Football Association has labelled troublemaking fans at the Nations League in Portugal "an embarrassment" after they clashed with police on Wednesday night.
Riot police charged England fans in the centre of Porto after beer glasses were thrown in the special fan zone set up for the Nations League finals.
"The FA strongly condemns the scenes witnessed in Porto overnight.
"Anyone responsible for these disturbances cannot be seen as true England supporters and are not welcome in football," said the FA statement.
"They are an embarrassment to the team and the thousands of well-behaved fans who follow England in the right way. We are liaising with the UK Football Policing Unit."
England supporters were staying in Porto ahead of yesterday's semi-final in nearby Guimaraes against the Netherlands and had gathered in the fan zone to watch Wednesday's match between Portugal and Switzerland, which the hosts won 3-1 with a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick, on outdoor big screens.
The Guardian newspaper reported that hundreds of England fans were baton-charged by riot police after they threw beer glasses.
Police condemned the "completely unacceptable" behaviour which also included smashing a car window, forcing roads to be closed to traffic and singing offensive songs.
Three England fans were reportedly arrested.
"There was a scuffle between English and Portuguese supporters, with bottles thrown, and the police had to intervene," Portuguese police spokesman Alexandre Coimbra told Agence France-Presse.
"The English supporters turned against the police who arrested two of them and identified a third."
However, several England fans said they had been unfairly targeted by police. One supporter showed The Guardian a large welt on his back, which he said had been caused by a police baton.
"I was just watching the match with my mates when it all kicked off," he said.
"Someone came at me from the side and whacked me."
The incidents are hugely frustrating for the FA, which only last week urged supporters of the national team to stamp out "embarrassing" anti-social behaviour.
THE GUARDIAN, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
New Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers watched on from the stands as the Foxes beat Brighton 2-1, while Newcastle pulled further clear of the Premier League relegation battle by defeating
Leicester welcome Rodgers with win, Newcastle end Burnley run
David de Gea is adamant Manchester United are not "satisfied" with their situation despite winning eight games in a row because the Premier League title is out of reach.
Man United not 'satisfied' despite winning run, says De Gea
Football: Southampton power past struggling Huddersfield Town
Man City could get transfer ban: report LONDON • Manchester City are set to be banned by Fifa from making signings in the next two transfer windows after they broke rules related to the protection of youth players and third-party ownership, according to a report in The Sun.
Man City 'set to be handed two-window transfer ban' for
Copa del Rey: Valencia to face Barcelona in final after seeing off Real Betis Valencia, who lifted the trophy on their last appearance in the showpiece match in 2008, will meet 30-times winners Barca in the final on May 25 at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.
Football news - Valencia to face Barcelona in Copa del Rey
Find Harrah's hotels and casinos in Las Vegas, Atlantic City and more locations around the country. Join the fun, come out and play.
Harrah's Philadelphia Racetrack - Harness Racing
Football: Zidane set for shock Real Madrid return, reports say
Aubameyang brace gives Arsenal win over Burnley Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang shot to the top of the Premier League scoring charts with two goals in Saturday's 3-1 home win over struggling Burnley.
A look at the biggest talking points ahead of the first weekend of Premier League football this season, including Louis van Gaal's first match in charge of Manchester United and Jose Mourinho new
5 talking points ahead of the final weekend of the Premier
Emery said: 'We have two things - next week against Valencia in the Europa League, we have big ambition and motivation in this competition. 'It's a semi-final and it's going to be difficult also, then we play Brighton and we want to win this match. 'At the beginning of the season we knew it was going to be very difficult (to finish in the top
Unai Emery urges Arsenal to focus on Valencia clash
Olympiakos dumped AC Milan out of the Europa League on Thursday after beating the seven-time European champions 3-1 in a pulsating clash in Greece, while Eintracht Frankfurt fans ran riot during
Ballon d'Or winner Luka Modric has criticised Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi for choosing not to attend this month's ceremony where he was given the award, saying their decision was unfair to
Luka Modric wins Ballon d'Or 2018, breaks decade-long Ronaldo
Football: Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh? SINGAPORE - Dear Yoshida-san, welcome to Singapore. Having taken up arguably the hottest seat in Singapore sport, I hope you know what you are in for with your first international assignment.
Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh?, Football
Football: Madrid plans 'robust' security for all-English Champions League final A police officer walking outside the Wanda Metropolitano stadium where the Champions League final will be held, on
Football: Madrid plans 'robust' security for all-English
Hatem wonder strike secures Qatar upset of South Korea. Qatar's Abdulaziz Hatem scored with a stunning late strike as the 2022 World Cup hosts upset Son Heung-min's South Korea 1-0 to reach the semi-finals of the Asian Cup for the first time on Friday.
Football: Hatem wonder strike secures Qatar upset of South
0 comments:
Post a Comment