Six Liverpool fans were arrested for acts of hooliganism on the eve of the Reds' huge Champions League semi-first leg against Barcelona at Camp Nou.
Jurgen Klopp's side will take on the Catalan giants on Wednesday night as they bid to reach their second successive Champions League final.
However, as reported by Spanish publication AS, in ugly scenes on Tuesday evening, various incidents of vandalism and hooliganism were reported across the Plaza Reial area, with one video posted online in particular appearing to show an Asian tourist being pushed into a fountain.
The report adds that the Barcelona Urban Guard has to intervene, with some hooligans throwing cans of beer and objects at police officers, with six arrests being made in the aftermath.
Fans bullying, mocking or racially abusing foreigners in Barcelona do our club and our city no favours. #LFC #Liverpool
— Peter Harvey (@peterjharvey) 30 April 2019
It is expected that more than 5000 Liverpool fans will be arriving in Barcelona for the semi-final clash, with some of them understood to be turning up without tickets for the game.
As such, AS claim that the Mossos d'Esquadra (the autonomous police force of Catalonia) have bulked up their security measures in preparation so that there are no incidents in particular in the tourist areas of the city and in the vicinity of Camp Nou.
In response to the acts, Liverpool CEO Peter Moore urged for greater 'respect' and 'humility' from travelling Reds fans in Barcelona, in a post made on Twitter.
We proudly sing that we’ve conquered all of Europe. But let’s treat this beautiful city with the respect that it deserves, and act in a manner that is befitting of LFC. By all means have a good time, but we are Liverpool, and as such,let’s visit here with grace and humility.
— Peter Moore (@PeterMooreLFC) 1 May 2019
Moore said: "We proudly sing that we've conquered all of Europe. But let's treat this beautiful city with the respect that it deserves, and act in a manner that is befitting of LFC. By all means have a good time, but we are Liverpool, and as such, let's visit here with grace and humility."
Source : 90min