Sixty 'known troublemaker' Crystal Palace fans banished from Leipzig ahead of Conference League final

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Content writer covering football, formula 1 and movies

German police have confirmed that 60 Crystal Palace fans were ordered to leave Leipzig city centre ahead of the Eagles' UEFA Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday.

Palace are on the cusp of their first-ever European trophy victory and it comes one year after they claimed their first-ever major trophy in their history when they defeated Manchester City to win the FA Cup.

After struggling their way through the league phase into the playoffs, they eventually defeated Zrinjski Mostar, AEK Larnaca, Fiorentina and Shakhtar Donetsk to reach the final.

Rayo, too, are aiming to win their first every European competition.

It should be a joyous occasion for both clubs but it has been slightly tarnished by reported trouble between the sets of supporters in Germany.

Following videos shared online showing rival fans clashing in the German city on Tuesday, Saxon State Police confirmed that two people were arrested and everyone involved in the disturbance was instructed to leave the area.

Two officers - one from the Federal Police and another from the State Police - suffered minor injuries during the clashes involving supporters from both sides.

"At approximately 20:00 (19:00 BST), around 300 Rayo Vallecano fans, considered to be at high risk of hooliganism, were gathered in the city centre," read a statement from Saxon State Police.

"Bottles, beer glasses, and pub furniture were thrown at each other. Physical altercations also occurred," added the police statement.

"Officers on the scene immediately intervened and separated the two groups of fans, checked the identities of more than 300 people, and issued dispersal orders.

"Known troublemakers from Crystal Palace moved to the area of the Penguin Ice Bar and approximately 60 individuals provoked passing Spanish fans and were surrounded by federal police."

Local police did say the fanjets in the market area of Leipzig remained peaceful, with about 2,000 fans from both clubs present.