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FOOTBALL VIOLENCE

Besiktas fans hospitalised after Kiev violence

Ten Turkish fans were treated in hospital, two for stab wounds, after clashes broke out before the Champions League game in Kiev, police said Wednesday.

Olympico Stadium Kiev
SERGEY DOLZHENKOEFE

Ten Turkish fans were treated in hospital, two for stab wounds, after clashes broke out ahead of the Champions League qualifier between Besiktas and Dinamo Kiev, police said Wednesday.

The violence late Tuesday cast a fresh spotlight on concerns for fans' safety in Kiev as the Ukrainian capital prepares to host the 2018 Champions League final.

A police statement said two Turkish fans were stabbed while eight suffered less serious injuries during clashes that began on Kiev's main avenue Khreshchatyk before the game and lasted for nine hours.

FC Dynamo's supporters holding sticks prepare to clash with Besiktas' supporters during the UEFA Champions League football match between FC Dynamo Kyiv and Besiktas at the Olympiyski Stadium in Kiev on December 6, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / SERGEI SUPINSKY
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FC Dynamo's supporters holding sticks prepare to clash with Besiktas' supporters during the UEFA Champions League football match between FC Dynamo Kyiv and Besiktas at the Olympiyski Stadium in Kiev on December 6, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / SERGEI SUPINSKYSERGEI SUPINSKYAFP

The match ended with Dinamo thrashing their opponents 6-0.

The result means that the Turks progress to the Europa League as third-place finishers in Group B while Kiev finish bottom of the group and are out of the competition despite the win.

At the match an AFP reporter saw Turkish fans ripping off seats and throwing them at Dinamo supporters while the police tried to keep the two groups apart.

A spokeswoman for the Kiev mayor's office said that eight of the Besiktas fans had been released from hospital by Wednesday while two more needed more time to recover. Dinamo fans were seen burning a Besiktas flag

One of those injured underwent surgery while the other still needed to convalesce, the spokeswoman said.

Besiktas fans at the game in Kiev
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Besiktas fans at the game in KievSERGEY DOLZHENKOEFE

There was no immediate response to the incident from the European football's governing body UEFA.