SOCCER/Sevilla 2 Tottenham 1:Tottenham and Sevilla look certain to face investigation from Uefa following a second successive night of violence involving English football fans in Europe.
Just 24 hours after Manchester United supporters had clashed with riot police in Rome, Tottenham fans were involved in ugly scenes with Spanish police during last night's Uefa Cup first leg semi-final defeat in Seville.
Trouble had flared shortly before kick-off when riot police had reportedly been needed to separate both sets of supporters outside Sevilla's ground.
Then after Sevilla had equalised Robbie Keane's second- minute goal with a dubious penalty, tensions again erupted.
Police wielding batons surged towards the corner of the ground containing Tottenham supporters. Seats were ripped out of the ground and hurled back at the police, although the majority of the fans moved to the back of the stand. Spurs supporters later said the problems inside the ground had started when they were subjected to unprovoked attacks as they made their way to the toilets.
With a huge religious parade taking place to mark the Semana Santa in Seville, there had been concern in the build-up to the game at the wisdom of both events taking place on the same night. The troubles overshadowed what had been a compelling night on the pitch.
Sevilla, who are pushing for a first La Liga title since 1946, certainly belong among the continent's elite group just now and Martin Jol was clearly mindful of the threat posed by outstanding Brazilian full back Daniel Alves. His solution was to enhance the defensive qualities of Tottenham's left flank by replacing Steed Malbranque with Teemu Tainio in front of Young-Pyo Lee.
Sevilla head coach Juande Ramos had expressed concern that the excitement of the religious festival in the city this week would subdue support for his team. His initial problem, though, concerned the lethargic start from his players.
Within a minute Dimitar Berbatov had peeled off into a shooting position and, although that chance came to nothing, the Bulgarian split Sevilla's defence with his next contribution.
His understanding with Keane has become deadly in recent months and the Dubliner timed his run perfectly to collect the pass and shoot beyond Andres Palop from a narrow angle after the Sevilla goalkeeper had blocked the first attempt.
There were just 68 seconds on the clock.
Tottenham had looked comfortable in possession and had every reason to feel aggrieved by Sevilla's 19th-minute equaliser. A header from Paul Stalteri hit Pascal Chimbonda and bounced behind the Tottenham defence and into the path of Adriano. Paul Robinson, though, was alert to the danger and seemed to get his hand to the ball as he met the onrushing Brazilian.
Adriano went to ground and the referee, Alain Hamer, pointed to the penalty spot. There was a sense of inevitably about the confident way Fredi Kanoute converted the penalty against his former club.
If Hamer was convinced that Robinson had fouled Adriano, it was strange he issued only a yellow card.
The 4,100 Tottenham fans had been asked to congregate in a special fans' zone to avoid the religious festival in the city centre but reports of a good atmosphere earlier in the day were soon forgotten as trouble erupted with the Spanish police.
Chairs were thrown and it took about 10 minutes before the situation was brought under control.
As attention focused on events unfolding in the stands, Sevilla took control of the game and were put into the lead when Aleksandr Kerzhakov converted Julien Escude's cross.
Guardian Service
SEVILLA: Palop, Javi Navarro, David (Dragutinovic 68), Daniel, Escude, Renato (Marti 60), Poulsen, Adriano Correia, Kerzhakov, Kanoute, Jesus Navas. Subs not used: Cobeno, Duda, Chevanton, Hinkel, Maresca. Booked: David.
TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Stalteri, Chimbonda, Dawson, Young-Pyo Lee, Lennon (Malbranque 80), Zokora, Jenas, Tainio (Ghaly 84), Keane, Berbatov. Subs not used: Cerny, Mido, Defoe, Taarabt, Ifil. Booked: Robinson, Tainio, Young-Pyo Lee, Zokora.
Referee: Alain Hamer (Luxembourg).
