The PSP arrested two men of Belgian nationality for crimes against the physical integrity of police officers, within the framework of the match between Benfica and Club Brugge, in the Champions League, the Lisbon Metropolitan Command reported on Wednesday.
According to that command, from Monday to Tuesday an action was needed to “restore public order in the Cais do Sodré area”, where there were altercations with the participation of supporters of the Belgian club, through the throwing of glass bottles and chairs, behavior that puts the physical integrity of the people in the environment at risk.
The intervention resulted in the arrest of two men of Belgian nationality, for crimes against the physical integrity of policemen who were part of the police force, as well as an injured policeman, according to the PSP note.
A variety of material was also seized from the Belgian fans to hide their identity (two balaclavas), for protection in the event of a physical confrontation (tactical gloves and a rain gutter) and pyrotechnic devices.
“The police half-monitoring the sympathizers in that place, since the afternoon of March 6, in the face of these behaviors also directed at the police, carried out a wave of dispersal using force and firing three low-potential lethal munitions, with the aim of putting an end to hostile behavior and restoring public order,” says the PSP statement.
During the day on Tuesday, the police operation continued with the unleashing of control, accompaniment and monitoring actions of the fans from various points in the city center to the stadium, mostly through the Lisbon metro lines, being necessary a dispersal performance at the Alto dos Moinhos metro station.
“Under surveillance at the Estádio da Luz, a Belgian fan was arrested for insulting and assaulting a law enforcement officer and several warnings were raised for administrative offenses for the activation of pyrotechnic devices, for consumption of alcohol in excess of the permitted limit and for the sale of inputs”, also refers to PSP.
Benfica confirmed, on Tuesday, its qualification for the quarterfinals of the Champions League, by beating Belgian Club Bruges 5-1, in the second leg of the ‘eighth’, in Lisbon, after the victory by 2-0 in Belgium.
Source: TSF
