In the run up to the Europa League final, even before the two finalists were known, the media in Bilbao has been reporting on preparations for the match. There’s been anxiety about getting things right and making sure the city is shown in the best possible light.
A major part of that has been the management of supporters before the event, and keeping the two sets of supporters apart, as much as is possible.
On Tuesday evening, local newspaper El Correo report there’s been issues with what appears to be a relatively small number of Tottenham Hotspur fans around Licenciado Poza.
El Correo, the major local newspaper, reports some of the fans present ‘found no better way to have fun than by smashing two traffic lights at the corner of this street and Doctor Areilza’.
Ertzaintza, the Basque police force, then moved closer to ‘take up positions’ and control the situation. El Correo clearly aren’t happy with the situation, and state: ‘In the first case, they celebrated the destruction as if they had won the title at San Mamés. They chanted the feat—oé, oé, oé—while one of them raised it like a trophy. “Lo, lo, lo,” they shouted while recording the moment. Then, a couple of fans placed the pieces on their heads and threw them to the ground.
‘And when traffic officers were already on the road, they kicked and stomped on it, further destroying it. Later, they broke another traffic light. In this case, they left the part intended for cars hanging, with the lower part ripped off and the cables dangling.’
Aside from that, the situation around Bilbao with supporters of both clubs involved appears to be going quite well. El Correo say two Manchester United fans walked through the area where Tottenham fans were and beer was thrown at them, they have a video on their website showing that.
El Correo end their article by explaining: ‘In other words, everything was proceeding relatively normally—some cars were being joked about, “If you don’t honk, you can’t get through”—until they started climbing the traffic lights and destroying them. Shortly after, the Ertzaintza (Basque Police) appeared and took up positions.’
Overall the atmosphere appears to be jovial, with incidents such as the traffic light destruction causing annoyance and encouraging Ertzaintza to take a closer look.
