Eight Leicester City fans arrested ahead of Madrid Champions League game
Supporters of English side cleared from square by police before first leg of quarter finals
Eight fans of English soccer club Leicester City visiting the Spanish capital ahead of their side’s Champions League game against Atlético Madrid were arrested on Tuesday evening after riot police cleared people from the city’s historic Plaza Mayor. Two officers and two Leicester City fans were slightly injured.
The arrests took place shortly after 10pm in the iconic square, close to the Puerta del Sol, said the Europa Press news agency, based on a statement by Madrid authorities. Several hundred fans of the Premier League side had gathered in Plaza Mayor on Tuesday, ahead of Wednesday night’s first leg quarter final game at the Vicente Calderón stadium, in the south west of the city.
Two police officers and two Leicester fans were treated by emergency services
Throughout the afternoon, fans mixed peaceably with locals. Most supporters of the side, coached by Craig Shakespeare and the current reigning champions of the English Premier League, had left the Plaza Mayor by early evening, but a group of some 50 continued drinking and carousing.
Madrid authorities said that police were called to clear the supporters away. During the operation, eight fans were arrested and taken to a police station several kilometers from the city center.
Two police officers and two Leicester fans were treated by emergency services in the Plaza Mayor, but did not require hospitalization.
English version by Nick Lyne.
