A police officer has died following violent clashes between Athletic Bilbao and Spartak Moscow fans prior to the Europa League round of 32 second leg last night.
As reported by the BBC, more than 500 officers were called upon for the tie and when chaos erupted outside San Mames before the game, riot police were forced to step in.
In scary footage which has emerged online, the two sets of fans can be seen aiming fireworks at one another.
Credit: Facebook/Ultras.Casual
And it has since been confirmed that Inocencio Alonso Garcia, a 51-year old officer from the Basque country's force, suffered a cardiac arrest and sadly lost his life in hospital as a result of the clashes.
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Bilbao's police force offered their condolences, as did Athletic and La Liga president Javier Tebas:
As per The Independent, UEFA issued the following statement on the matter:
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"Uefa strongly condemns the violent clashes which occured in Bilbao on Thursday night. We are in contact with local authorities to obtain further information on these incidents.
"Uefa sends its sincere condolences to the family and colleagues of the police officer who passed away tonight."
Spartak won the second leg 2-1 away from home but their 3-1 defeat on home soil a week ago meant they lost 4-3 on aggregate and were therefore eliminated from the competition.
Topics: Football News, Football, Europa League, Athletic Bilbao, Spain, Fans, Russia
