BREAKING: Police officer dies as football fans riot – hooligan horror at Europa League

Football fans rioted in Bilbao this evening before the crunch second-leg Europa League tie between Russia side Spartak Moscow and home team Atletico Bilbao. 

One police officer has been killed after suffering a heart attack during the pre-match violence. 

The city’s police force were prepared for a showdown between the two sets of fans but struggled to bring the violence under control. 

In terrifying circumstances the police officer suffered cardiac arrest. He was rushed to hospital and confirmed dead at around 10pm local time (9pm GMT).

Four other people suffered non-fatal injuries. AS newspaper report one policeman suffered a head injury although it was not clear whether this referred to the deceased. 

Shocking footage shows rival groups of fans firing fireworks at each other in the city centre.

Flares and bottles were also flung during pitched battles in the San Mames neighbourhood. Fighting later broke out in the Duesto region. 

Other fans were shown fleeing the scene after fans repeatedly fired weapons and threw projectiles at each other. 

Five people, including three Russian fans, have been arrested.

Hundreds of Russian fans travelled to Spain for the game – many without tickets.

Amid tense scenes, Sparta Moscow secured a 2-1 win on the night but were still knocked out 4-3 on aggregate. 

Russian fans caused chaos during the 2016 World Cup, leaving dozens of British fans injured.