Tottenham accuse Spanish police of setting upon stewards and disabled fan in wheelchair

Tottenham yesterday accused the Spanish police of hitting a disabled fan and knocking him out of his wheelchair during Thursday night's chaotic Uefa Cup quarter-final here which erupted in violence.

In a strongly worded statement the Premiership club also claimed that two of their own stewards - and Spurs' disability co-ordinator - were also set upon by police and security staff and that the incident only calmed down when the Spanish authorities were persuaded to remove their officers after half-time. However, the Spanish government's representative in Seville claimed later that drunken Spurs fans were to blame for the fighting.

The violence erupted during Spurs' 2-1 first-leg defeat at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium with some of the 4,000 visiting fans claiming they were beaten by police as they attempted to go to the toilets, that the segregation of supporters was insufficient and the ticketing arrangements dangerous. Some responded by ripping up seats and hurling them at the police.

The violence, in which six fans and two police officers were injured and seven arrests made, came 24 hours after police clashed with Manchester United supporters in Rome. Local Italian media claimed yesterday that three British fans, who have been released on bail, will face trial in November for their part in those disturbances, while the authorities went on the offensive declaring that United fans were to blame.

Italy's Minister of Justice, Clemente Mastella said: "At the [Stadio] Olimpico, I have seen only one thing - English fans who are not the best example of how to support the team they love who provoked police. I have seen the police maintain their position. You cannot accuse our law enforcement officials of brutality."

Italian politicians also reacted angrily to criticism from the British media while Rome's police issued a statement yesterday urging everyone to wait for an investigation. Television footage had previously focused on Italian police launching themselves at United fans.

What happened in Rome and in Seville will now be investigated by Uefa. All four clubs involved could face sanctions although as with the events in the Italian capital, in which 14 British and four Italian fans were hurt, the Spurs supporters were adamant that they were the victims of police heavy-handedness. The club backed up their claims and insisted that none of the fighting involved rival fans. In a long and detailed statement the Spurs club secretary John Alexander demanded that the Spanish authorities provided answers for what prompted the disturbances.

"There seemed to be no reason why our supporters should have been pushed and crowded into a section of the stadium," Alexander said. "It was a police decision and we're trying to find out who made that decision and why.

"We really need to get to the bottom of just what the police were trying to do when they entered those segregation lines. We have been distressed to hear about incidents involving our supporters at a time when they were showing no aggression whatsoever and also in respect of our disabled supporters being set upon by the Spanish riot police. We need to understand how we are in a position whereby we have two clearly identifiable Spurs stewards assaulted by the Spanish police, along with our disability co-ordinator being injured, too. There was one disabled fan who we know was hit with a baton with such force that it knocked him out of his wheelchair."

Spurs said that they had worked "very hard to try and respect what was happening in Seville over the Easter period". There have been suggestions that the eagerness of the police to suppress the fans was over concern that they could disrupt the important Holy Week celebrations in the Andalusian capital. However, Alexander claimed that the police went too far. "As soon as the police were removed from that section there was no more trouble."

The Haringey police chief Simon O'Brien, at the match as an observer, also questioned the police's approach. Chief Superintendent O'Brien said: "I was able to witness first-hand the events in Seville. The Spurs fans' behaviour was excellent throughout the day and the Spurs stewards did what I can only describe as a remarkable and commendable job at the match ... The introduction of the police during the match in one particular section of the crowd undoubtedly contributed to the disturbances that we saw."

The Spanish authorities took an aggressive line yesterday with a government official, Faustino Valdes, claiming: "We have two police who have suffered some serious blows and we also have arrested [seven] Tottenham fans who should be now appearing in court. Some Tottenham fans under the influence of alcohol attacked the private security officers and police, there were some incidents as security tried to overcome the fans and nothing more. It was an incident surrounding a few people who behaved badly, probably because they had drunk too much."