Spain's interior minister has played down fears raised by the national team's security chief that organised Spanish 'ultras' were travelling to Euro 2016 to cause trouble at Friday evening's game against Turkey in Nice.
Euro 2016 has been hit by numerous incidents of fighting between fans of different countries, with Russia supporters reportedly the worst offenders and supporters of other teams including England, Wales, Slovakia and Germany also involved in some incidents.
French police have responded by arresting a number of individuals from different countries and regularly firing tear gas to disperse groups of fans, while UEFA have threatened to throw Russia and England out of the tournament should fans of either side be involved in further violent incidents inside stadiums.
Such incidents have been viewed with horror by some in Spain, with AS editor Alfredo Relano writing that England should already have been sent home due to the "unwarranted brutality" and "alcoholic delirium" of their fans.
However, violence is not unknown around La Liga stadiums, with a Deportivo La Coruna 'ultra' killed during pre-organised clashes with Atletico Madrid radicals in November 2014 and La Liga president Javier Tebas subsequently moving to take steps to try and break links between organised ultras groups and their clubs.
But fears that ultras from Spain had made a plan to meet up with French counterparts and cause trouble at La Roja's Group D game against Turkey on Friday evening were played down by Jorge Fernandez Diaz.
"We have no evidence of this possible journey of groups of radical violent ultras to this game to potentially take part in some disturbances," Fernandez Diaz said. "The police have denied this information. Among thousands of people there can always be some trouble-makers. But there is no evidence at all that organised groups are planning to travel, the police have assured me of that."
Fernandez Diaz was responding to Daniel Sanchez Benavente, a senior policeman accompanying the Spain team in France during the tournament, who said on TV Espana that he had information that "40 or 50" ultras were planning to travel to Nice.
"We have had this information for a while," Sanchez Benavente had said. "These groups are 'brothers' with fans from PSG or Lyon and as it is so close it is easier for them to travel than to Brazil, for example."
Around 8,000 Spanish fans have official tickets for Friday's game at the Stade de Nice. There were no reports of any trouble involving supporters of Vicente del Bosque's side at previous tournaments over recent years.
However, a group of Spanish fans were involved in an incident in Cologne on Thursday evening, which resulted in five Russian fans being arrested.