A Police officer has been confirmed injured and four Real Betis fans arrested after their violent outburst at Old Trafford.
Real Betis fans nearly sparked a mass brawl towards the end of the Manchester United Vs Real Betis Europa League round 16 first-leg clash.
Manchester United beat the LaLiga side in style, scoring four goals pass the visitors to make a step toward securing the quarterfinal ticket.
Goals from Marcus Rashford, Antony, Bruno Fernandes, and Wout Weghorst sealed a 4-1 win for Manchester United.
Wout Weghorst completed the rout for Manchester United in the 82nd minute after he fired home a rebound to bury the game. Three minutes after his strike, some Real Betis fans nearly sparked a mass brawl in the stands at the Stadium.
Apparently furious with the defeat and the outrageous scoreline, some fans attempted to break into the Man United fans section – a move that would have led to a mass brawl grounding the game to a halt.
They were spotted hurling seats in fury and flinging them at Manchester United fans while attempting to break the barricade separating the two sets of fans.
The Police and security immediately intervened to arrest the simmering chaos, leading to a clash between them and the Real Betis fans.
Pyrotechnics and flares were hurled by the away fans at the security operatives and one Police officer has been confirmed injured in the incident.
Investigations carried out by the Greater Manchester Police, GMP, after the incident have revealed some Real Betis fans carried drugs and flares into the stadium.
The GMP has confirmed four fans have been arrested in connection with the violence and two have been held in custody.
However, the GMP further clarified not all Real Betis fans were involved in the violent conduct.
About 3,600 Real Betis fans bought tickets and attended the fixture, but about 50 instigated the violence which nearly interrupted the game.
The Police statement confirmed the rest of the 3550 Real Betis supporters were “respectful and well behaved.”
As of the time of filing this report, it was confirmed only four were arrested in connection with the violence at Old Trafford but the GMP has confirmed they are working closely with all relevant authorities and groups – Manchester United, the UK Football Policing Unit, Real Betis, Uefa, and Spanish Police colleagues – to bring all culprits to book.
More arrests and prosecution are expected in the coming days with the UEFA equally expected to wade into the crisis.
While over 90% of Real Betis supporters at the Stadium did not have a hand in the incident, it is expected Real Betis should have done enough to caution fans on uncouth behavior that may attract grave penalties.
Manchester United secured a deserved 4-1 win over Real Betis and will travel to Spain for the second-leg on Thursday.
