THIS is the moment Majorca riot cops chased down and fired rubber bullets at German football “ultras” in a Brit holiday hotspot.
Tourists were left fleeing the scene in the Majorcan beach resort of Playa de Palma on Monday evening as officers from the National Police UPR unit looked to break up a group of some fifty people.
The majority were fans of Alemannia Aachen, a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia, who have just been promoted to the 3. Liga – Germany’s third tier.
The club’s ultras are said to be linked to the extreme right.
The group had attacked a doorman at the Bamboleo bar on Carrer del Pare Bartomeu Salvà, near the beach, the Majorca Daily Bulletin report.
A fight with other security personnel then followed, it was added, with significant damage caused to the bar.
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Footage circulating online captured the moment armed police moved in around 7pm.
Officers holding weapons could be seen running after a group clad in yellow and black – the colours of Alemannia Aachen – in front of horrified onlookers.
Amongst the chaos on the strip were other tourists fleeing to safety as the police began firing rubber bullets in the direction of the troublemakers.
Fellow tourists cowered away on the side of the streets and ran into other bars for cover.
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Neighbours described the ordeal as like a “war zone.”
Previous footage showed the large group of Alemannia fans congregated outside the Bamboleo bar chanting and drinking from earlier in the day.
According to the report, The Palma city council and the National government is expected to send more police to the area.
Alemannia Aachen were crowned champions of the Regionalliga West, one of five leagues in the fourth tier of the German football league system, after finishing 12 points clear at the top of the league.
They last competed in the third tier during the 2012-13 campaign, six years after they were relegated from the Bundesliga.
Football fans heading to Germany for Euro 2024 this summer face a resurgence in far right neo-Nazi hooligans who have been overwhelming the police across Europe.
And the worst offenders come from the city with the country’s highest number of billionaires – one typically more associated with bankers than brawlers.
Eintracht Frankfurt’s fans have developed such a reputation for violence that they were banned from Napoli’s stadium last year for a Champions League match.
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But that didn’t stop them causing mayhem in the Italian city, with their supporters throwing objects, smoke bombs and flares at riot squads, and setting fire to a police car.
Their toughest troublemakers – Brigade Nassau – are said to be made up of martial artists, boxers and bouncers.
Who are Alemannia Aachen’s ‘ultras’?
By Tom Malley
There may be plenty for Alemannia Achen to celebrate following their recent on-pitch success but there are far more serious matters at hand for the fourth-tier German side to content with.
Known as the “Kartoffelkäfer”, which quite literally translates as “potato beetles”, Alemannia boast some of the country’s most ardours ultras.
One ultras group, called Karlsbande, currently have their own website, where they explain they meet “several times a week to create flags, double holders or choreographies”.
They claim how being an ultra is “an attitude to life that accompanies you every day of your life.”
Two years ago, a known right-wing hooligan group called Boxstaffel 520 was founded, a source told DW.com.
They remain at the epicentre of an ongoing debate, with experts labelling the club’s support as a hotbed for far-right extremism.
According to research by the left-wing platform “Rechercheplattform zur Identitären Bewegung”, club officials have been pictured in Instagram posts of some of the club’s right-wing organised supporters.
In response to mass demonstrations in protest against the rising far right in Germany earlier this year, Alemannia released a questionable social media post.
“We’re obviously against all forms of hate, incitement and extremism,” it read. “The club would not participate in any demonstrations that “divide society.”
The club later apologised for the “questionably phrased” post and promised to conduct an internal investigation.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
