17 new arrests made over Madrid soccer fan brawl that left one dead

Police have made a third wave of arrests in connection with a street fight between soccer hooligans that took place outside Atlético Madrid’s Vicente Calderón stadium, on the banks of the Manzanares River, last November 30.

Seventeen more people were taken into custody on Wednesday morning in Madrid, Valencia and Toledo for their alleged involvement in the brawl, which left one soccer fan dead. Two of the new suspects were detained in connection with the death.

Four individuals who were thought to be the perpetrators of the crime against Taboada were released in May

Francisco Javier Romero Taboada, 43, was killed after taking part in the violent clash between radical followers of Galician club Deportivo de La Coruña and Atlético de Madrid.

After being beaten, Taboada – a member of Deportivo’s Riazor Blues hardcore fan group – was thrown over the handrail and into the river, where he reportedly struggled to keep afloat for 20 minutes and went into cardiac arrest before he could be treated by an ambulance crew.

The Wednesday operation comes on top of 82 other arrests made in two separate raids. Police sources said they were not ruling out a fourth wave of detentions in connection with the massive street confrontation between both hooligan groups.

Four individuals who were thought to be the perpetrators of the crime against Taboada were released in May by the investigating judge – the fourth to take over the case – after viewing witnesses’ video footage and concluding that the person they were seen throwing into the river was not in fact Taboada but another man, Santiago Abaga Manteiga, who managed to pull himself out of the water and walk away from the scene.

But police have testified that it was the same group of attackers who, just seconds later, grabbed Taboada and also threw him into the Manzanares. Recorded footage of this second attack also exists.