Police beat disabled fan out of wheelchair: Spurs

Spanish police have been accused of hitting a disabled fan during Tottenham’s UEFA Cup clash against Sevilla.

Spurs were defeated 2-1 in the quarter-final first leg, which was marred by ugly scenes in the stands at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium.

Trouble was sparked by some fans arriving late, with the police allegedly pushing the Spurs contingent away from home supporters.

Visiting fans have accused police of an unprovoked attack during which a disabled supporter was struck.

“There was one disabled fan who we know was hit with a baton with such force that it knocked him out of his wheelchair,” said Tottenham club secretary John Alexander.

Spurs officials persuaded the Spanish authorities to take the police out of the away section for the second half, and the trouble died down.

The ugly scenes came just 24 hours after Manchester United fans accused Italian police of being heavy-handed in clashes during their 2-1 Champions League quarter-final defeat to Roma.

Daniel Wynne, of Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, was at the Sevilla match and blamed police for over-reacting.

“It was pretty much a massive over-reaction by Spanish police,” he said.

“It had been a perfect day up to then but was spoilt by some over-zealous police officers, who started throwing their weight around, for want of a better term.

“After the penalty, a couple of fans got a bit excited about that but nothing more than shouting at the pitch. There was no violence. Spurs fans weren’t causing any trouble. The police went over and above acting as stewards.

“The supporters were trying to calm things down but it looked like the Spanish police, from where we were, started jabbing at them with batons.”

UEFA have launched investigations into the flashpoints in Rome and Seville this week, although they have not discussed possible sanctions.

Communications director William Gaillard said: “Any talk of sanctions is pure speculation, it has not been discussed. The control and disciplinary body is a fully independent body and we and they will look at the evidence.”