More trouble on terraces mars defeat for Spurs

On the holiest day of the Andalusian calendar, an unholy sight as Tottenham Hotspur fans clashed with riot police before and during last night's Uefa Cup quarter-final against Seville. The Spurs supporters said they were beaten with batons as they attempted to go to the toilets which provoked an angry response. Seats were ripped up and hurled and the fighting, in two parts of the ground, continued, overshadowing a compelling contest.

The violence had started before kick-off with riot police having to separate rival supporters outside the stadium and broke out again after 25 minutes, continuing until the start of the second half as the police, themselves hurling batons, strug-gled to gain control. The problems were made worse by the lack of proper segregation, with the Spurs fans crammed into a corner, and the chaotic seating.

A spokesman for the British Embassy confirmed that six fans were injured, three taken to hospital, and six arrests made. Spanish police said that two of their officers were also hurt in the violence. Later a Spurs fan was struck by police as he attempted to take a photo of the team bus leaving. Goalkeeper Paul Robinson jumped off the coach and took him back into the stadium to make sure he was OK. It was that chaotic.

"Of course it's a concern but first you have to look into it and make up your mind," said Spurs manager Martin Jol. He then alluded to the fact that there may well have been provocation by adding: "It's not all one-way traffic." Twenty-four hours after the scenes in Rome another Uefa inquiry looms. Along with the orange blossom and incense that charac-terises Maundy Thursday in this city, there was blood.

Indeed last night was supposed to be the highlight of the religious ceremonies in Seville with a series of processions, La Madruga, until the early hours of the morning. Instead the concern was to ensure that the 2,000 or so Spurs fans who remained in the city, with another 2,000 flying out last night, remained pacified.

On the pitch and Seville, the cup holders, recovered from Robbie Keane's goal after just 67 seconds to win the first leg and end Spurs' run of seven consecutive wins in this competition. However they needed a highly controversial penalty to draw level. That it was scored by their former striker Fredi Kanoute - his 23rd goal of the season - added salt to the wounds. But the tie remains in the balance. "50/50," said Jol when asked to put a percentage on it.

The percentage would have been skewed more in his team's favour as Keane put them ahead. He latched on to Dimitar Berbatov's clever pass, taking advantage of appalling defending - the openness of the Seville side was a constant encouragement - only to see his shot parried by goalkeeper Andres Palop. However the ball rebounded to Keane and, from an acute angle, he slid it into the net.

For a while Spurs reigned supreme. Calm and in control they appeared to nullify the coruscating threat down Seville's right flank, from Daniel Alves and Jesus Navas, by deploying Teemu Tainio as a defensive shield in midfield. The tactic worked until Paul Stalteri attempted to head the ball back to Robinson only for it to strike Pascal Chimbonda. It fell to Adriano but as he attempted to round the goalkeeper Robinson appeared to make a clean challenge and win the ball. The referee, Alain Hamer, saw otherwise and awarded the penalty which Kanoute calmly slid home.

"Everyone could see it was not one but two hands on the ball so we are very disappointed," Jol said. "It was a bad decision." Keane called it a "disgrace" while Robinson himself was nonplussed. "I got two good hands on the ball. But the referee said to me that I got the ball then the man." The penalty knocked Spurs back. "I think it affected us more than what happened in the stands," Jol said.

Michael Dawson, although he came close with a diving header from a free-kick, was having a torrid time at centre-half as Seville began to build a head of steam. Crosses rained in and eventually Julien Escude headed one back across the Spurs goal for the unmarked Aleksandr Kerzhakov to stoop and beat Robinson from close range. It did little to dampen the angry scenes among the Spurs fans but thankfully they did, eventually, abate.

It was unfolding into a compelling contest and, twice, Kanoute spurned opportunities to further make Jol regret his pre-match scoffing that he was not a prolific striker. Both chances were created by Adriano. Firstly Kanoute side-footed wide and then headed across goal with Robinson stranded. But Spurs were also wasteful. Keane, released by Tainio, could only fire a low shot across the six- yard area while substitute Steed Malbranque made a hash of a chance after being teed up by Berbatov. They return to London today knowing their hopes are still very much alive.

Copyright 2007 Independent Newspapers UK Limited. All rights owned or operated by The Independent.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.