Shocking moment punches thrown as brawl erupts between Man Utd & Spurs fans in Spain ahead of Europa League final
THIS is the shocking moment a brawl erupts between Manchester United and Tottenham fans as punches get thrown ahead of the Europa League final.
Up to 70,000 Man Utd and Tottenham fans have flooded the streets of sunny Bilbao in good spirits and with drinks flowing.
But in nearby San Sebastian, the mood took a dark turn with footage surfacing on X of a fight between the two sets of supporters.
In the shocking video, a large group of football hooligans are seen brawling as they throw objects and punches at each other.
Residents alerted authorities at around 9.20pm after they witnessed violent behaviour on Fermín Calbetón Street.
Witnesses say the fight broke out when two large groups of supporters began shouting and hurling insults,
It quickly escalated into a full-blown brawl, with both Man Utd and Spurs fans grabbing whatever they could to throw at each other.
One hooligan overturned a terrace table and used it as a weapon against the other group.
Drinks and bins were also hurled, creating a chaotic scene that posed a serious risk to local businesses and passersby.
Several local police patrols rushed to the scene after reports of the brawl and quickly restored order.
No arrests have been made so far, but officers have stayed in the area to keep the situation under control.
An ambulance was also dispatched, with several people treated at the scene.
However, after further assessment, staff determined no one needed to be taken to the hospital.
It comes as tens of thousands of Brits landed in Bilbao ahead of the highly anticipated final.
Some are braving an epic 32-hour-plus ferry ride which set sail at 10pm on Sunday evening and won’t arrive until 8am on Tuesday morning.
With flights to Spain rocketing over £1,000 after the Prem teams sealed their final spots, many took advantage of the cheaper sea-route option, which set them back £260 for a cabin.
The sky-high air prices are due to just six direct flights from Britain to the Basque region’s industrial port city each day.
And with only 65 hotels in Spain’s tenth largest city, accommodation has been fully booked for weeks.
Each club has millions of fans across the globe, but since there are just 14,000 tickets allocated to each team, bagging a seat to the showpiece event has been a tricky task.
Last night, precious tickets to the big game were selling on the black market for up to £10,000.
EasyJet was charging £1,823 to fly from Gatwick to Bilbao on Wednesday morning and return on Thursday morning, while the cheapest hotels for Wednesday night cost around £1,200.
But for those fans who managed to snap up the golden tickets, footage has shown them enjoying themselves.
A Bilbao bar was flooded with Brit fans chanting and drinking ahead of the anticipated final.
Spurs fans were also seen welcoming the team bus as it arrived in the city one day before the clash.
Footage taken by The Sun showed fans arriving to fill the streets of Bilbao about 40 hours before kick-off.
Both sets of supporters have been pictured marching through the streets, chanting songs with beers in hand as they gear up for the Europa League final.
Footie fanatics get the party started early
By Sun man in Bilbao, Dave Courtnadge
IT’S barely midday in Bilbao on the day before the Europa League final between Manchester United and Spurs – but it’s already getting lively.
I arrived in the city at about 9am after a 32-HOUR ferry ride from Portsmouth.
And the first thing a lot of fellow fans planned to do was find a pub for a well-earned drink.
Walking around the area around the San Mames stadium this morning, a fair few others had the same idea.
Many have had long journeys, stopping off overnight in another city to keep down the soaring cost of getting here, with some direct flights over £1,000.
So it’s no surprise many are already getiing the party started, or the Bilbao leg of the party anyway.
Spurs fan Gary, who flew out from London before an overnight stay in a Madrid hotel resembling a “prison cell”, joked as he supped a pint in the sun: “I’m just getting some practice in for tomorrow.”
The atmosphere has been brilliant so far, and hopefully that will continue.
There had been claims that Spurs fans are set to outnumber United fans by 5 to 1, with an estimated 50,000 supporters of the two English sides expected to arrive.
One Tottenham follower I spoke to joked that they had bought all the flights out of London to keep the Reds out.
Based on the number of Spurs shirts I’ve already seen, he might be right.