Dozens of AS Roma supporters who traveled to Tirana for the Europa League final conference against Feyenoord Rotterdam were repatriated on Wednesday after violence injured at least 30 people, police said.
The situation returned to calm overnight after the outbreak of violence in which most of the supporters of both sides clashed with police on the eve of the high-risk meeting.
A policeman was stabbed while an Albanian who expressed his support for the Italians was beaten by a chair and hospitalized in an emergency.
A total of 19 policemen were injured and 10 people – five Albanians, three Italians and two Dutch – went to hospitals for treatment, Albert Dervishaj, deputy national police chief, said at a conference in a hurry.
Clashes erupted when police tried to prevent Dutch supporters from heading to the football stadium located in the heart of the capital to confront AS Roma fans. They reacted with violenceattacking cops using glass bottles, rocks and other sticks.
Italian club supporters also attacked the officers, police sources said. Clashes between supporters of the two teams also took place in at least three places in Tirana, AFP said.
About sixty people were arrested, mostly Italian supporters. About 80 AS Roma fans were deported early in the morning to Italy from the port of Dürres on the Adriatic.
Four police vehicles were damaged, according to police who seized various weapons, knives, brass knuckles, iron bats and wooden sticks. Authorities have declared a public holiday for the occasion. Schools and administrations were closed while the circulation of vehicles was prohibited on the streets.
While the capacity of the national stadium was only 21,000 seats, at least 100,000 fans came to Albania to watch the game. They were separated into separate areas and had to watch the match scheduled for the night on giant screens, according to authorities.
About 2,000 police were mobilized to ensure the security of the event.
Source: Radio-Canada
