Bilbao shuts down as British football fans clash for Europa League final
British football fans in Bilbao for last night's Europa League final between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United have left a trail of damage, disruption and frayed nerves in their wake, prompting tightened security and widespread closures across the Basque capital.
Local authorities had already imposed sweeping traffic restrictions starting Monday 19 May, in anticipation of the arrival of an estimated 80,000 fans.
Official efforts included road closures and closed metro stations, which halted normal traffic in the city centre and made it nearly impossible to get anywhere except by foot. Separate fan zones helped with safety issues, but tensions still boiled over on Wednesday evening, with several incidents involving intoxicated fans reported across the city.
In the busy Licenciado Poza area, two rubbish bins were set ablaze shortly after kick off, sending a dense black cloud down the street as fans crowded into nearby bars. Firefighters quickly brought the blaze under control and no injuries were reported, though the origin of the fire is still under investigation.
Moments later, further violence erupted. According to El Correo, police arrested three individuals in connection with street fights between Manchester and Tottenham supporters as they made their way to the San Mamés stadium. One man sustained a minor facial injury, and another was arrested after smashing the window of a shopfront. Riot police were dispatched to break up the altercations.
In one particularly chaotic moment on Calle Egaña, a brawl escalated into fans throwing chairs and tables across a pedestrian street lined with bars. Several businesses, including the local asador, Rallye, were forced to close temporarily as violence spilled into their outdoor terraces.
Bilbao local Ane Fano described the atmosphere as 'sad' and 'tense.' 'Everything is cut off and closed since Tuesday. There are a lot of drunk English people,' she said. 'All I'm going to do is go to the gym and [then go] back home. They're not even letting taxis through.'
The city had already closed off major arteries to vehicles, and municipal workers removed rubbish bins across multiple neighbourhoods to prevent vandalism. San Mamés metro station was shut by 3pm on Wednesday 21 (match day), and parking restrictions blanketed the central districts.
Despite pre-match plans to keep rival fan bases separated, several groups of supporters disregarded official guidance, converging in key intersections where tensions flared. At one such point, in the Indautxu neighbourhood, a group of Manchester United fans allegedly attacked Tottenham supporters, prompting a police and ambulance response.
By Thursday morning, videos were circulating on Spanish social media of various skirmishes from the night before — including scenes of police detaining fans in Simón Bolívar Street and others being dragged from scaffolding they had climbed near the iconic Plaza Nueva in Bilbao's old town.
It's not the first time Bilbao has seen disorder from British football supporters. Local authorities have taken increasingly firm measures after previous matches involving Premier League teams turned ugly. Bilbao residents, for the most part, agreed with the measures. 'After what happened with Manchester fans last time, this is for the best,' Fano added.
The city's residents have taken to WhatsApp and social media to share updates and vent frustration at the invasions of their daily routines. Anecdotes about the visitors, such as photos of a Manchester United fan sleeping under newspapers in a plaza after failing to find a hotel room, are also making the rounds online.
With record-breaking numbers of flights arriving at Bilbao's small airport this week – 195 on Tuesday and 282 scheduled on Wednesday alone – the influx has placed a strain on local services, even before the violence began. UEFA organisers escorted VIP guests, private coaches and reinforced local Bizkaibus units have shuttled supporters nonstop, and taxi drivers have faced queues lining the entire terminal frontage.
Basque Ertzaintza police officers have been deployed alongside Guardia Civil patrols – yet despite the frenzy, operations at the airport and surrounding transport network remained on schedule with no major incidents reported.
The match ended in a 1-0 victory for Tottenham, but the residents of Bilbao are likely to be the ones truly celebrating the end of this final.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
23 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Four dead in crash after Spanish police chase ram raiders
Four people were killed when a gang of suspected ram raiders crashed into oncoming traffic during a high-speed police chase on Spain's Costa del Sol on Thursday. In an attempt to evade police cars, a van carrying the three alleged thieves swerved onto the wrong side of a motorway near Torremolinos and collided with a vehicle driven by an off-duty police officer. The three suspects are believed to have died instantly. Their bodies were removed from the wreckage by firefighters. The fourth victim, a police officer, was 'extracted from his vehicle by local police officers but later died', Malaga emergency services said. Identified only as Antonio, the 48-year-old officer was a member of the so-called Gotham Group, a branch of the Spanish police that works secretly at night to combat crime in the tourist hotspot. He had been driving towards his home in Benalmádena after finishing his shift. Police had been on the lookout for a gang believed to be behind a series of night-time ram raids on pharmacies in the Malaga area. Just before 5am, an alarm alerted officers to a break-in at a pharmacy in the Puerto de la Torre area of the city. The intruders deactivated the security shutters before forcing open the front door, but did not manage to open the safe before police raced to the scene. They escaped along the A7 coastal motorway towards Marbella, with patrol cars in pursuit. After speeding along the wrong side of the road to throw off the pursuit, they crashed into the off-duty officer's car when they took an exit near Torremolinos's Palacio de Congresos conference centre. The officer's car caught fire on impact. The National Police Force and the SUP, a Spanish police officers' union, sent their condolences to the family, colleagues and friends of Antonio. The interior ministry said the government was 'deeply saddened by Antonio's death'. Malaga's pharmacy association called for improved security to halt a 'crime wave' affecting chemists in the province. Four or five similar break-ins have been reported in the region over the past month.
Leader Live
26 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Craig Bellamy: Wales will prepare for Liechtenstein the same way as any opponent
Liechtenstein are among the whipping boys of world football and ranked 205th out of FIFA's 210 nations. They have not won a competitive game since September 2020, and lost their opening two World Cup qualifiers in March to North Macedonia and Kazakhstan 3-0 and 2-0 respectively. 'We win the game, that's it, That's the honest truth,' Bellamy said at his pre-match press conference. 'I don't care about scorelines. We have to win, that's all we're working for this week. 'We've prepared for Liechtenstein as we did for Turkey and everyone else. It doesn't matter who we play against. 'I've watched the same amount of games on Liechtenstein as I have for every other team. My psyche can't work any different. 'I honestly believe if you disrespect the game it will catch you out. Do I understand people looking past it? Of course I do. 'But I was up late last night. I didn't sleep well. Does that tell you something? I treat every team the same. 'The same messages have been fed to the players. It doesn't matter.' Wales opened their World Cup campaign in March with a 3-1 home victory over Kazakhstan and a last-gasp 1-1 draw in North Macedonia. The Dragons know a far tougher test against group favourites Belgium lies ahead in Brussels on Monday. Bellamy has utilised much of his squad in previous double-headers since being appointed last summer. He is likely to do so again with such a quick turnaround before the Belgium game, although Leeds winger Daniel James is likely to miss out against Liechtenstein. 'Unfortunately Dan picked up an illness so we've had to separate him from the group,' said Bellamy. 'We can't afford to have any other players infected. 'We're monitoring him and monitoring the situation, but we've got cover. It's OK.' Captain Ben Davies and Brennan Johnson have joined up for international duty after helping Tottenham to Europa League glory against Manchester United. Johnson scored the winner in the Bilbao final to end Tottenham's 17-year wait for a trophy. Davies said: 'We had a couple of days celebrating, but you keep going on that merry-go-round and the next game seems to come up. 'I think Brennan has shown this year that he's a top, top player and proven a lot of people wrong. 'We've got full confidence in him in this Wales squad, that he can replicate his form at the club, here. 'We love having him around the place and I feel we've got the best Brennan at the moment.'
Leader Live
26 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Win fans over and dismantle Celtic – Russell Martin has work to do at Rangers
The former MK Dons, Swansea and Southampton manager takes over from Philippe Clement, who departed in February and was replaced by interim boss Barry Ferguson. The appointment of a new boss comes following the confirmation of the takeover by an American consortium of Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises while Kevin Thelwell recently officially joined the Light Blues from Everton as the new sporting director. It's all change at Ibrox and, here, the PA news agency looks at the in-tray awaiting Martin who has to quickly get his side ready for July's Champions League qualifiers. ✍️ Our new Head Coach, Russell Martin. — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) June 5, 2025 There has been a mood of disgruntlement among many Rangers fans before and since the confirmation of Martin as the new man in the hotseat. Rangers supporters are unhappy with his performance in the Premier League, where he was sacked by Southampton after a horror start to the season, after bringing them up through the play-offs. There is the perception that Martin was too dogmatic in his possession-based style of play and paid the price in the English top flight. He is already under severe and unprecedented pressure to hit the ground running. There's plenty of work to be done to overhaul Rangers' squad which ended up trophyless last season, albeit reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Rangers confirmed the departures of Ianis Hagi, Leon Balogun and Tom Lawrence with their contracts set to expire. Loanees Vaclav Cerny, Neraysho Kasanwirjo and Rafael Fernandes have also left the club while players like Robin Propper, Nedim Bajrami, Ben Davies, Kieran Dowall – the latter two who spent last season at loan at Birmingham – are expected to depart. Midfielder Lyall Cameron will arrive from Dundee but he will not be alone. Arguably, a new goalkeeper, right-back, left-back, two centre-backs, two wingers, a number 10 and a striker is required. Of course, much will depend on the style favoured by Martin and how much money is made available but the Light Blues will have a new look next season. Midfielder Nicolas Raskin is arguably the club's biggest asset following a terrific season during which he broke into the Belgium national side. The 24-year-old, who signed from Standard Liege in January 2023 for a reported fee of around £1.3million has two years left on his contract. Rangers fans remain disgruntled about players like Ryan Kent and Alfredo Morelos who were allowed to run down their deals and leave for nothing. Enigmatic Cyriel Dessers has often been a frustrating figure since signing from Cremonese in 2023 but ended up top scorer in the Premiership last season with 18 goals while he netted 29 times for Rangers in total, taking his tally over two seasons to 51. Rangers fans appear split on whether the Nigeria international, contracted to 2027, should stay or go. But how much would it cost to replace him with a striker who guarantees the same goal return? Martin may just have walked in the door but he will be expected to win silverware this season with Celtic dominating Scottish football. Rangers fans watched their Old Firm rivals clinch their 13th league title in 14 seasons – albeit the Light Blues had a better head-to-head in league games – and only a Scottish Cup final defeat to Aberdeen on penalties denied the Hoops a sixth domestic treble in nine years. It will be down to Martin to change that direction of travel. 💙 — Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) June 5, 2025 The appointment of Martin dragged on and Rangers are facing a race against time for next season. The Light Blues will have to go through three rounds of qualifying in order to reach the league phase of the Champions League, the first of which is July 22-23. Rangers return for pre-season training on June 23 and, somehow, Martin needs to assemble a squad to hit the ground running.
