THIS is the moment a fuming Bilbao citizen swings a stick at a rowdy Manchester United fan after flags were plastered on his balcony.
Around 70,000 Brits have flooded the Spanish city to watch the sensational Spurs vs Manchester United showdown – to the obvious dismay of some locals.
PAManchester United fan has an altercation with a resident in Plaza Nueva before the UEFA Europa League Final[/caption]
PATwo men had seemingly just hung up a flag when the altercation unfolded[/caption]
GettyThe Devils fan looks down at crowds as the local is left fuming[/caption]
GettyFlags have been tied to scaffolding ahead of the UEFA Europa League Final 2025[/caption]
Unbelievable footage shows the Bilbao resident holding a stick above his head, seemingly ready to hit the red-shirted Devils fan walking across the scaffolding after putting up a flag with a pal.
The local swings the stick, purposely to scare the footie fan into thinking he’s going to get hit, as the Man United fan holds up his hand to protect himself while smiling.
Meanwhile another Devils die hard is straightening out the flag that had just been hung up and tries to walk past the stick-wielding man on the balcony.
The local is seen holding out his bizarre weapon and seemingly poking the fan who’s trying to get past him.
Meanwhile a sea of red-shirted footie fanatics are shown watching the spectacle ahead of tonight’s final.
Bilbao bars have been flooded with Brit fans chanting and drinking ahead of the anticipated final tonight.
Both sets of supporters have been pictured marching through the streets, chanting songs with drinks in hand as they gear up for the Europa League final.
Some have braved an epic 32-hour-plus ferry ride which set sail at 10pm on Sunday evening and didn’t arrive until this morning.
With flights to Spain rocketing over £1,000 after the Prem teams sealed their final spots, many took advantage of the cheaper sea-route option, which set them back £260 for a cabin.
The sky-high air prices are due to just six direct flights from Britain to the Basque region’s industrial port city each day.
And with only 65 hotels in Spain’s tenth largest city, accommodation has been fully-booked for weeks.
Each club has millions of fans across the globe, but since there are just 14,000 tickets allocated to each team, bagging a seat to the showpiece event has been a tricky task.
On Sunday night, precious tickets to the big game were selling on the black market for up to £10,000.
EasyJet was charging £1,823 to fly from Gatwick to Bilbao on Wednesday morning and return on Thursday morning, while the cheapest hotels for Wednesday night cost around £1,200.
But for those fans who managed to snap up the golden tickets, footage has shown them enjoying themselves.
Spanish security officials on high alert have deployed a ring of steel to fortify the San Mames Stadium as brawls have broken out and streets trashed ahead of the final.
Overnight fiery clashes and ugly fights between the two fan bases broke out – with hooligans expected to sow chaos today.
GettyFans gather ahead of the UEFA Europa League Final football match[/caption]
GettyTottenham Hotspur fans standing on top of traffic lights[/caption]
PAManchester United fans in high spirits ahead of tonight[/caption]
To counter this, Spanish authorities have deployed more than 3,000 gun-wielding cops to oversee three security rings around the stadium.
One will sit in the immediate perimeter, another on the esplanade in front of the stadium, and the final near the Sabino Arana area.
Access will be restricted to only ticket holders and local residents as fears loom those without a seat in the final will attempt to illegally enter the stadium.
Each club has millions of fans across the globe, but there are just 15,000 tickets allocated to each team for the 53,000-capacity stadium.
A 10-foot high fence has been erected around the site, with border controls reinforced by the Spanish National Police.
Fan zones equipped with giant screens and more than 60,000 litres of beer have been set up outside the city centre to attract fans without tickets away from the security perimeter.
To minimise the risk of confrontations, the two sets of fans will be kept in separate areas – 1.5 miles apart – before kickoff.
Sniffer dog units have also been deployed, with rigorous searches to be constantly conducted on fans.
Footie fanatics get the party started early
By Sun man in Bilbao, Dave Courtnadge
IT’S barely midday in Bilbao on the day before the Europa League final between Manchester United and Spurs – but it’s already getting lively.
I arrived in the city at about 9am after a 32-HOUR ferry ride from Portsmouth.
And the first thing a lot of fellow fans planned to do was find a pub for a well-earned drink.
Walking around the area around the San Mames stadium this morning, a fair few others had the same idea.
Many have had long journeys, stopping off overnight in another city to keep down the soaring cost of getting here, with some direct flights over £1,000.
So it’s no surprise many are already getiing the party started, or the Bilbao leg of the party anyway.
Spurs fan Gary, who flew out from London before an overnight stay in a Madrid hotel resembling a “prison cell”, joked as he supped a pint in the sun: “I’m just getting some practice in for tomorrow.”
The atmosphere has been brilliant so far, and hopefully that will continue.
There had been claims that Spurs fans are set to outnumber United fans by 5 to 1, with an estimated 50,000 supporters of the two English sides expected to arrive.
One Tottenham follower I spoke to joked that they had bought all the flights out of London to keep the Reds out.
Based on the number of Spurs shirts I’ve already seen, he might be right.
ReutersOne football fan holding a traffic light in Bilbao last night[/caption]
ReutersGun-wielding cops walk through Bilbao ahead of the Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester United match[/caption]
GettyManchester United fans gather to show their support to their team[/caption] Creator – [#item_custom_dc:creator]
