Police clash with French fans, while Palestine flag banned at Real Madrid

Spanish police clashed with Marseille fans ahead of the Champions League match between the French club and Real Madrid.

The confrontation began in the Spanish capital on Tuesday, as the fans waited to get into the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium before the game.

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Police in riot gear and horse-riding officers used batons to disperse the French supporters as they apparently tried to move out of the spot allocated for them while waiting outside the Bernabeu gates.

A few thousand French fans were expected for the match, and a heavy police presence was in attendance for the game.

The situation was controlled quickly, and the fans entered the stadium in time for the match.

Bernabeu security personnel did not allow fans to enter the stadium with Palestinian flags, enforcing a policy that was in place even before pro-Palestinian protests made headlines for disrupting the Spanish Vuelta cycling race this weekend.

The flags were confiscated from fans who tried to enter with them.

The anti-Israeli government protests disrupted several stages of the three-week-long Vuelta.

Protesters, who demanded that team Israel Premier Tech be expelled from the Grand Tour event, threw barriers onto the road and clashed with police on Sunday to keep the final stage from being completed as originally planned.

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