250 injured as rival football thugs clash

Fans of rival Jordanian football clubs clashed after a match, injuring 250 people in violence that pointed to the deep divisions between the country's native Bedouin clans and its Palestinians.
By The Newsroom
Published 13th Dec 2010, 10:35 BST
Updated 13th Dec 2010, 10:35 BST

Most of the injuries happened when a metal fence separating spectators from the pitch in the Amman stadium collapsed during Friday night's unrest between Wehdat and Faisali fans. Thirty policemen were among the injured.

There is a long history of violence between supporters of the two teams, stemming in part from the decades of tension with Jordan's large Palestinian population, which includes an estimated 1.8 million refugees displaced after Israel's 1948 creation and their descendants.

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Most of Faisali's players and fans are from native Jordanian Bedouin tribes. Most of Wehdat's players and fans are Palestinian.

Yesterday police questioned a dozen people suspected of sparking the clashes.

Police clashed with thousands of football fans and nationalists who gathered near the Kremlin to protest over the fatal shooting of a man on the streets of Moscow.

The crowd of more than 2,000 was distraught over the death of Yegor Svidorov, a member of the Spartak Moscow's fans organisation, who was shot with rubber bullets in a fight at a bus stop.

Related topics:Palestinians