Online Reporter
ATLETICO MADRID fans were TEAR-GASSED by police just moments before their Champions League clash with Arsenal.
The Spanish giants welcomed the Gunners to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano this evening for the first leg of their semi-final tie.
Atleti fans gave Diego Simeone‘s troops an incredible welcome to the stadium, filling the streets and letting off colourful flares as the team bus arrived.
But things soon turned ugly thanks to a minority of rowdy fans, some of whom hurled objects at Madrid police.
The troublesome supporters forced coppers to implement some heavy-handed tactics to keep the peace.
Their initial attempts to restore order, however, failed.
This prompted several coppers to charge towards the troublemakers in a bid to move them on.
The police wading into the crowds, however, didn’t completely have the desired effect.
So in a bid to quell the chaos and disperse the crowd, they fired what appeared to be multiple canisters of tear gas towards the troublemakers
That unfortunately led to several innocent bystanders getting covered in the chemical dispersant.
In a further bid to restore order, the cops decided to send in officers on horseback.
And in exclusive footage captured by SunSport, rogue Atletico fans could be seen hurling objects at the horse-riding coppers.
Police eventually managed to get a lid on things, although they’ll likely be bracing themselves for more trouble after the final whistle.
There was chaos inside the stadium as Arsenal demanded a last-minute PITCH INSPECTION.
The Gunners weren’t happy with the length of the grass and voiced their concerns to Uefa.
But their request to have the pitch, which has been incredibly slippery this season, looked at was denied.
The Gunners left the Spanish capital with their hopes of reaching the final still intact thanks to a 1-1 draw, which came courtesy of first and second-half penalties from Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez -Sun.
Bongani Ndlovu