Alex Trelinski
A FIGHT in a football stand between teenage groups forced police to suspend a match in Javea on Saturday, with two boys arrested and several dangerous objects seized.
Groups from Benissa and Javea had been threatening violence via social media leading up to Saturday’s clash between the 14 to 16 year-old boys teams from CD Javea and UD Benissa.
People- mainly parents of the players- attending the clash at the Javea Municipal Sports ground were horrified by off-field events when youths started brawling in the stand.
One teenage group wore black t-shirts and hurled motorcycle helmets at other youngsters.
Attendees saw one of the aggressors brandishing a machete, with others carrying knives, screwdrivers, and wooden clubs.
Four Javea Policia Local patrols along with the Guardia Civil arrived at the ground to break up the violence.
The match was suspended as officers cleared the stand and arrested two youths from Calpe aged 14 and 16 for being the ring-leaders.
There were no injuries but family members of the footballers were left shocked by what they saw.
Javea police praised the collaboration of everybody at the ground as well as that of the affected teams and the CD Javea board of directors.
CD Javea said in a statement: “We strongly condemn what happened and the incident had nothing to do with values that football coaches and their staff instill in athletes every day.”
It added that the altercation was between ‘young people unrelated to both teams’.
