Chaos in Wroclaw: Chelsea fan is set upon by Betis supporters as Conference League build up turns violent with 10s of thousands descending on the city - and 28 arrested
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- Chelsea and Real Betis fans have clashed ahead of the Conference League final
- Riot police were called in to separate the fans after two days of violent clashes
- LISTEN NOW: It's All Kicking Off! Is Ruben Amorim too honest?
Violent clashes have broken out in Wroclaw this evening between Chelsea and Real Betis fans ahead of the Europa Conference League final.
Tens of thousands of rival fans have descended on the Polish city ahead of tonight's crunch match at the Wrocław Stadium, with tensions having arisen between the two opposing teams just hours before kick off.
Scenes turned sour in the city centre following violent exchanges between 'several hundred' people just after 5pm today, leading to 28 arrests.
Cops were forced to use a water cannon on some of the Chelsea supporters while riot officers also formed a wall separating both sets of fans after bottles were thrown at one another from the bars.
Mail Sport was nearly struck by one which came from a Betis group.
Chairs were also used as missiles and some who were unfortunate enough to be hit were seen with bloodied heads as blue and green flares were likewise thrown.
Elsewhere, a group of Real Betis were seen mercilessly kicking and striking at least one Chelsea fan next to a bus stop, leaving him cowering with a bloody nose.
Clashes between supporters began yesterday, with Polish police reportedly now hunting for the fans, branded as 'thugs' by local media, who were involved.
Supporters had descended on the Salt Market Square and clashed outside a restaurant on the eve of the final.
But the atmosphere quickly turned sour with fans desperately trying to fend off police, throwing chairs and other objects towards them.
One supporter was seen wielding a belt amid the violent outbreaks, and smashed glass was also seen scattered on the floor.
Armed with batons and shields, it is believed that police made a barricade to separate fans on the northern side of the Market Square.
As objects were thrown their way, they decided to intervene and seemingly unleashed pepper spray on supporters.
Pictures show armed police spraying a substance toward Chelsea fans in the market, as they attempt to flee the area.
At the same time, police are reportedly searching for stragglers from Tuesday night and are even going undercover in plain clothes to root out misbehaviour, local outlet Wroclaw Wyborcza reports.
'The police assure that residents and true football fans can feel safe, because there are a lot of uniformed and plainclothes police in the city, who react immediately,' the outlet claims.
Meanwhile, Sport claims that football fans have 'vandalised the city premises and infrastructure', branding them 'thugs'.
Locals have been ordered to report any 'dangerous incidents' as the police and city guard look to stamp out any further trouble before the final.
Following the incident in Market Square, the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wroclaw released a statement.
'The uniformed officers reacted immediately after the incident, which resulted in no further escalation of the conflict or negative behavior,' the statement read.
'The fans scattered in different directions and currently the police officers of the criminal division are conducting activities aimed at identifying them.
'The number of preventive and operational police forces and their saturation is so large in places where residents and sports fans gather or move around that everyone can feel safe.'
Chelsea are bidding to ‘win it all’ by securing the Conference League trophy tonight, having previously won the Champions League and Europa League.
More than 70,000 supporters are estimated to have descended on Wroclaw, despite the stadium only having a capacity 42,000.
To deal with the influx of fans, reportedly 2,000 police officers from around Poland have come to the city.
