Police fired rubber bullets at rioting crowds after celebrations of Barcelona's Spanish league title spilled over into violence. Police said Sunday that 65 people were arrested overnight, while 51 suffered minor injuries in the disturbances.
About 15,000 raucous supporters had gathered at the city's Canaletes fountain on Las Ramblas avenue, the traditional site for celebrating the Catalan club's title wins. A few hours into the celebrations, a group of around 100 people at nearby Plaza Catalunya started launching bottles and other projectiles at the police. That led to plain-clothed officers making arrests, which then provoked further trouble.
Following police warnings, officers charged at the crowd and fired rubber bullets. The arrests were made for vandalism, public disorder and resisting authority, police said. In comments published on the club's Web site, Barcelona president Joan Laporta had expressed his wish for fans to celebrate the team's second trophy of the week 'quietly and calmly'.
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