Clashes, arrests mar Real victory

Spanish television pictures showed police baton-charging sections of the crowd and making arrests. There were no official estimates of the size of the crowd although unofficial estimates made by Spanish television reporters present at Cibeles put the number in the region of 100,000.

Similarly, there are not yet any official details of the number of people detained by the Spanish police or of any injuries to police or Real fans.

Real Madrid won a record 30th Spanish league title yesterday after beating Real Mallorca 3-1 in their own Santiago Bernabeu stadium.

The victorious Real squad arrived at Cibeles two hours after the end of yesterday8217;s match, to the sight and sound of an official fireworks display.

Unlike after previous triumphs, when the whole squad climbed over the statues in the centre of the fountains, this time city authorities only permitted club captain Raul Gonzalez to place a scarf on the statues. The rest of the squad, including David Beckham, stayed on an open-top bus.

The Madrid authorities decided to restrict the number of players climbing Cibeles this year after recent incidents when Real squads have damaged the statues.

For many years, the city paid for repairs but the last two mayors of Madrid have also presented Real with the bill for damage sustained by the monuments.

The arrival of the squad 8212; decked out in jerseys saying Campeones Champions with the number 30 on them 8212; seemed to be the catalyst for the crowd disturbances. There were also serious confrontations between police and Real Madrid supporters in the provincial city of Alicante.