A Chelsea supporter was battered and left with a bloody nose after being set upon by Real Betis fans during violent clashes in Wroclaw ahead of the Europa Conference League final.
Shocking pictures have emerged showing the supporter being attacked by a group of Spanish football fans who surround and kick him in the middle of the street.
The Chelsea fan, still grasping a can of alcohol in his left hand, is led away with blood streaming from his nose and onto his t-shirt.
The brutal attack came as police in the Polish city of Wroclaw fired a water cannon on opposing fans clashing near the central square, five hours before kick-off in the Conference League final.
Riot officers formed a wall separating both sets of supporters after bottles were thrown at one another from the bars. Mail Sport was nearly struck by one which came from a Betis group.
Chairs were also used as missiles and some who were unfortunate enough to be hit were seen with bloodied heads as blue and green flares were likewise thrown.
Fights had broken out between rivals fans with one supporter even wielding a belt.
Smashed glass was scattered on the floor with all this occurring near the fan park. They were worrying scenes with kick-off set at 9pm for this European final.
Chelsea are bidding to ‘win it all’ by securing the Conference League trophy, having previously won the Champions League and Europa League.
Clashes between supporters began on Tuesday and on Wednesday Polish police reportedly began hunting for the fans involved, with local media branding them 'thugs'.
Locals have been ordered to report any 'dangerous incidents' as the police and city guard look to stamp out any further trouble before the final.
Supporters had descended on the Salt Market Square and clashed outside a restaurant on the eve of the final, with fans desperately trying to fend off police, throwing chairs and other objects towards them.
Scenes turned sour after a reported series of 'scuffles' between fans and pepper spray was apparently unleashed on unruly individuals.
Now police are searching for stragglers from Tuesday night and are even going undercover in plain clothes to root out misbehaviour, local outlet Wroclaw Wyborcza reports.
'The police assure that residents and true football fans can feel safe, because there are a lot of uniformed and plainclothes police in the city, who react immediately,' the outlet claims.
Meanwhile, Sport claims that football fans have 'vandalised the city premises and infrastructure', branding them 'thugs'.
Armed with batons and shields, it is believed that police made a barricade to separate fans on the northern side of the Market Square.
As objects were thrown their way, they decided to intervene and seemingly unleashed pepper spray on supporters.
Pictures show armed police spraying a substance toward Chelsea fans in the market, as they attempt to flee the area.
Following the incident, the Provincial Police Headquarters in Wroclaw released a statement.
'The uniformed officers reacted immediately after the incident, which resulted in no further escalation of the conflict or negative behavior,' the statement read.
'The fans scattered in different directions and currently the police officers of the criminal division are conducting activities aimed at identifying them.
'The number of preventive and operational police forces and their saturation is so large in places where residents and sports fans gather or move around that everyone can feel safe.
More than 70,000 supporters are estimated to have descended on Wroclaw, despite the stadium only having a capacity 42,000. To deal with the influx of fans, reportedly 2,000 police offers from around Poland have come to the city.