France and Spanish fans clash

By Humphrey Carter LOCAL Police had to intervene to separate French and Spanish football fans along the Playa Palma in the early of yesterday morning. According to eyewitnesses, groups of Spanish and French fans started to clash at around 1am between resorts numbers one and five along the Playa de Palma. According to reports, some two hours after France defeated Spain 3-1 to knock them out of the World Cup, a group of fans aged 18 were seen matching around flying a large French flag and shouting “where are the Spanish?” They eventually crossed the path of a group of Spanish fans and a loud, abusive and potentially violent stand off followed. The Local Police were on the scene within minutes and managed to contain the situation before it got out of hand. Police sources said that no arrests were made “these kinds of incidents are common on match night” he said. The World Cup is about to enter its third and final week and, so far, there have been no major incidents involving fans in the Balearics. In Calvia, where controversial and unpopular clandestine measures have been intrdiuced in “hot spots” areas of Magalluf and Palmanova during England matches only, the thousands of England fans appear to have enjoyed the matches peacefully. The only reported incident to date was the one in the early hours of yesterday morning along the Playa de Palma, where big screens have not been banned and the sale of alcohol controlled and restricted. In Germany, the authorities and the police have praised the behaviour of the hundreds of thousands of England fans and also praised their sportsmanship. It would appear that the England fans here in Majorca are setting a similar example by enjoying the football, the weather and the great sporting atmosphere.