Three Espanyol fans jailed

Spanish courts come down hard of footballing thugs.

Espanyol

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Espanyol’s fans during the UEFA Cup
Semi-Final 2007 [GALLO/GETTY]

Three Espanyol fans have each been sentenced to three years in prison for committing public disorder offences during a match against FC Barcelona in 2004.

They were convicted Tuesday and ordered to pay Espanyol nearly $17,300 in compensation, Spain’s AS newspaper reported.

Espanyol did not immediately return repeated calls seeking comment, and no one was available at the Barcelona court.

The three fans threw objects onto the field and caused damage to Estadi Olimpic stadium in the derby league match in October 2004.

They were detained by police after a confrontation outside the ground.

They are barred from entering the stadium for the next five years, AS said.

There have been several serious incidents of violence at Spanish matches in recent years.

Last month, a Real Betis fan was fined $7,000 for hitting former Sevilla coach Juande Ramos with a bottle thrown from the stands in February 2007.

Another incident happened at the Ruiz de Lopera stadium March 15, when an Athletic Bilbao player was struck in the face by a bottle thrown from the stands.

Source: News Agencies