Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 9y

Spanish police arrest 32 ultras, 'two connected with Deportivo fan death'

Two members of the "Frente Atletico" radical group have reportedly been arrested in connection with the death of Deportivo La Coruna ultra Javier "Jimmy" Romero Taboada, according to Spanish Police.

The death took place during a reportedly pre-organised fight with Depor's "Riazor Blues" group, in which about 200 individuals took part in running battles by the banks of Madrid's river Manzanzares, ahead of a midday La Liga game between the clubs at Atletico Madrid's Estadio Vicente Calderon on Nov. 30.

Police arrested a number of individuals at the scene, and have also reportedly been studying video footage of the incident taken by witnesses on mobile phones and digital cameras, as well as interviewing club security officials at both Atletico and Deportivo.

News of the arrests broke via Twitter, with the message reading: "32 ultras arrested in Madrid, Avila and Toledo for the violent incidents at the Manzanares, among them, two alleged perpetrators of the homicide."

El Pais reports that all those arrested belong to the "Frente Atletico" group, which has been banned from the Calderon by Atletico's directors as part of a concerted move by Spain's football and government authorities to cut long-standing links between clubs and ultras.

The co-ordinated police operation into the incident which led to Jimmy's death has been called Operation Neptune.

An autopsy subsequently carried out found he had most likely been hit with an iron bar, and had also suffered exposure having been thrown into the cold water of the river.

^ Back to Top ^