PARIS – French police officers made two arrests after a brief fan-fight at a Nations League soccer game between France and Israel, Paris police chief Laurent Nunez said Friday.
Stewards “immediately contained” the scuffle inside the Stade de France national stadium on Thursday night, Nunez said.
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“There was the start of a fight. We were extremely reactive, so the incident was very quickly contained," the police chief said, speaking to broadcaster France 2.
Officers took one person into custody immediately and arrested the other after the match, with the help of video evidence, Nunez said.
Scuffles broke out around 10 minutes after the game kicked off as scheduled at 8:45 p.m. Paris time in the top section of the stand behind one of the goals. Some of those involved had Israeli flags draped over their backs. It was not clear what caused the altercation and security intervened after around one minute.
The match finished in a 0-0 draw with no further incidents inside the stadium.
Police deployed thousands of officers, ratcheting up security following violence in Amsterdam before and after a Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Dutch authorities said fans from both sides were involved in that unrest. Assaults on Maccabi fans sparked outrage and were widely condemned as antisemitic.