Five Germans have been arrested in Seville after scenes of carnage saw Eintracht Frankfurt ultras try to attack Rangers fans.
Bar owners in the Andalusian city told how a mob of balaclava-clad thugs set upon the Gers supporters without warning on Tuesday night, before cops stepped in to make arrests.
Spanish cops have blamed around 200 Eintracht Frankfurt ultras for last night’s problems
Chaos erupted in Seville as the hooligans launched a series of red flares and lobbed glass bottles at Gers supporters who had gathered in the street to party.
Horrifying footage shared by Spanish media outlets shows baton-wielding riot cops emerge from a convoy of vans, while other officers attempt to control the area.
The ultras brazenly approached heavily-armed officers standing between them and the Scottish fans before hurling their missiles as extra police reached the scene.
One flare landed inches from the spot where the Rangers supporters were standing, near to Irish bar O’Neills on Paseo de Colon where trouble flared between Eintracht Frankfurt ultras and West Ham fans in March.
One Gers supporter could be seen picking up a glass and throwing it in the direction of the German hooligans on the other side of the police line.
But police sources said the Eintracht Frankfurt ultras had started the trouble by trying to reach the Rangers fans and start a fight with them.
Police reinforcements were quickly mobilised, arriving in several riot vans with their sirens sounding and lights flashing, to restore order and stop the problems worsening.
One pot-bellied German was seen being marched away by cops in handcuffs.
One bar owner whose terrace was destroyed described the violent Germans as “animals” and praised the Rangers supporters for their “exemplary” behaviour.
The Spanish businessman, who asked not to be named for fear of reprisals, said: “This wave of Germans just appeared out of nowhere around midnight and destroyed everything in their path.
"They attacked people at random with punches and kicks and then moved on.
“I’ve been told one of the men you see in the videos doing the rounds, a bloke wearing a balaclava at the front of the pack, put someone in hospital by kicking them in the chest.
“The Rangers fans had been in my bar all day, drinking like champions and enjoying themselves, and had been behaving really well. I can’t praise them enough.
“It was 100 per cent the German ultras who started all the problems. It was gratuitous violence, random attacks on anyone in their path. They behaved like animals.”
A spokesman for Spain’s National Police, in an early appraisal of Tuesday night's violence, said: “Five people, all German nationals, have been arrested.”
They also said the problems had started around Seville Cathedral where a Rangers fan is believed to have suffered a head injury before the Eintracht Frankfurt fans moved on to nearby Paseo de Colon and were filmed throwing missiles past police in the middle.
Spanish police chiefs admitted on Tuesday the Europa League final represents the “most complicated” challenge they have faced in recent years.
More than 5,500 police and private security guards have been mobilised to help keep the peace.
Spanish National Police chief Juan Carlos Castro admitted the effect of alcohol on the behaviour of both sets of fans was a concern.
He also confessed the amount of construction work going on in the city, including areas near to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium where Wednesday final will be played at 9pm, was a worry.
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
