Portugal ・ Police violence

It wasn't the hooligans this time

29 May 2025

Football is often associated with passionate, feverish fans – a that passion sometimes turns violent. But a new kind of aggression is making headlines at football events in Portugal: police violence.  This year, the finals of Portugal's two biggest football competitions,  which should've been days of joy for fans, turned violent and tragic for some.

After the national championship, celebrations didn't unfold as expected. Fans lost teeth and were blinded and disfigured – all at the hands of the police. Videos show rubber bullets fired into seemingly peaceful crowds. In another final, one man was struck with a truncheon and knocked unconscious. Ironically, the police themselves praised the fans' behaviour in a statement.


〉More about the fan that went blind

〉Violence in the National Cup

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