European football officials yesterday declared a state of emergency over the rising wave of clashes between police and English supporters in Italy and Spain.

Uefa, European football’s governing body, said that cultural differences between police and fans meant the sport was in danger of returning to the 1980s, when violence was endemic. It announced that it was to launch formal investigations into events in Rome and Seville where British fans claimed they were subject to violent attacks by police officers.

Yesterday John Reid, the Home Secretary, and Richard Caborn, the Sports Minister, expressed serious concern at the treatment of supporters of Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur by police in Rome and Seville respectively.

The two clubs have issued strongly-worded statements condemning heavy handed tactics of riot police, with supporters of both clubs complaining of unprovoked attacks and indiscriminate beatings.

However a defiant Rome chief of police showed reporters seven minutes of CCTV footage which he said proved “beyond doubt” that “drunken and aggressive” Manchester United fans were to blame.

William Gaillard, Uefa’s director of communications, told The Times that the problem was not confined to Britain.

“This is not just a problem involving supporters of British clubs and we acknowledge that. Everyone recognises that something has to be done because this is a mortal threat to the sport. We have seen incidents not just in Spain and Italy but also in France and Holland and Germany. It is a very complicated issue, but we are in an emergency situation here.

“In some ways it is worse than in the 1980s. At that time the violence was maybe a spontaneous thing, where people would drink and then horrible things would happen. Now it seems there is organised violence.”

Mr Gaillard appeared to have some sympathy with fans of the English clubs, who have complained of overzealous tactics by the police in Rome on Wednesday evening and Seville 24 hours later.

“I feel this is, let us say, a cultural problem between northern Europe and southern Europe,” he said. “The British supporters are not accustomed to police reacting in this manner and vice versa. It creates a difficult atmosphere and this is something we must look at.”

Mr Reid said that he was eager to study reports from the police as well as from the football authorities and British consuls in Italy and Spain: “I think that anyone who saw some of these incidents would at least have questions to ask about how they were handled and we have asked those questions.”

Mr Caborn, who saw footage of the incidents on television while on holiday in Cyprus, said: “I would like to wait until I see a full report from Uefa. However, they were terrible scenes and, from television, it looked as if there has been some excessive force from the police.” He added: “If you treat people like animals, they will behave like animals.”

But Achille Serra, Rome’s chief of police, said that the footage, for which he provided a minute-by-minute commentary, showed English supporters smashing seats and throwing objects at officers.

“The British tabloids have used this bloodied face as a symbol of our alleged brutality, but here you can quite clearly see he is the one inciting his friends to violence,” Mr Serra said.

He said that 300 United supporters had “rampaged” through the streets, vandalising bars, throwing bottles and fighting AS Roma fans. “On both sides there is a category of violent imbeciles who use knives,” he said. “But these episodes always happen here with the English, never with the Spanish, the French, or the Germans.”

Chief Superintendent Simon O’Brien, Borough Commander of Haringey police, who attended the match in Seville as an observer, said: “It was quite clear that there was a different level of police intervention to that which we employ in the UK. The introduction of the police in one particular section of the crowd undoubtedly contributed to the disturbances.”

John Alexander, Tottenham’s club secretary, issued a statement condeming the police in Seville for an unprovoked attack. “We have been distressed to hear about incidents involving our supporters at a time when they were showing no aggression whatsoever and also in respect of our disabled supporters being set upon by the Spanish riot police,” Mr Alexander said. “We need to understand how we are in a position whereby we have two clearly identifiable Spurs stewards assaulted by the Spanish police, along with our disability coordinator being injured too.”

Daniel Wynne, of the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust, said: “The television pictures are of seats being thrown, but that was 15 minutes after an unprovoked attack by police.”

Seven Tottenham supporters were arrested on Thursday evening and due to appear in court in Seville yesterday. Reports in Seville said that 11 Spanish police officers were injured and one taken to hospital.

Faustino Valdes, the Spanish Government’s representative in Andalucia, said: “It was an incident surrounding a few people who behaved badly, probably because they had drunk too much.”

Those claims upset Tottenham, just as United were aggrieved by the comments from Mr Serra, who reiterated his belief that Italian police had been justified in issuing beatings that, along with an ambush by AS Roma fans before the game, left 18 United supporters injured. “These are high-risk games and if we find there has been any excess [from the police], action will certainly be taken,” Mr Serra said. “But at the moment it does not seem to me that the police acted in an incorrect manner.”

Italian reaction

“ I’ve never seen anything like it — the Manchester fans were like wild beasts”
Anonymous policeman quoted in Il Messaggero

“Fans beaten, London versus Italy”
Corriere della Sera

“London on the offensive”
Il Messaggero

“No self-criticism from the British clubs or fans, of course. It is all the fault of the Italian and Spanish police, apparently”
RAI television

“My men were forced to intervene to avoid a collision between the two violent groups from both teams, a collision which would have been really hard to handle . . . My officers couldn’t escape at this point. They were completely surrounded”
Achille Serra, Rome chief of police

“If people are criticising the security forces . . . I was at the stadium and I saw no negative behaviour. Certainly when you are facing facts of this nature you cannot hand out flowers, that much is clear”
Achille Serra

“Police must behave in the same manner, whether in Italy or abroad. Police must have reacted to something the fans did, otherwise they wouldn’t have intervened”
Romeo Capelli, the Union of Roma Fans

“The English press speak of heavy-handed police? We owe gratitude to our law enforcers and I don’t believe those who try to make games safe can be crucified in this manner”
Giancarlo Abete, president of the Italian Football Federation

“Uefa has opened an investigation and is gathering evidence and will be studying the official reports of the referee, delegate and security officer in detail before announcing any further action”
Uefa statement