There was a horrible moment during Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg between Inter Milan and Benfica in the stands of the San Siro. During the game several Benfica fans hurled flares onto unsuspecting Inter supporters.
The iconic San Siro has an interesting layout where sometimes the away supporters sit above the home fans.
With Benfica trailing on aggregate the traveling fans turned up the heat lighting flares. The scene turned ugly when the individuals holding the flares targeted the section below them filled with Inter fans.
This is cowardly and unacceptable behavior.
Benfica fans flares incident at San Siro
Flare throwing by Benfica fans in the ring below during Inter v Benfica last night. pic.twitter.com/h04lM3zx6I
— (@thecasualultra) April 20, 2023
Benfica fans throw flares at Inter fans 19/04/2023 pic.twitter.com/KXgn7S8Dwq
— 101% ULTRAS (@101ULTRAS) April 19, 2023
Whole San Siro reacting lighting up phones after 2-1 goal to mock Benfica fans who just had criminally thrown 8 turned on flares on fans minutes earlier#InterBenfica pic.twitter.com/wvSpr1tZ7l
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) April 19, 2023
It’s unclear if any fans suffered serious injuries.
Families and children attend these games. The monsters responsible for throwing those flares should face stadiums bans and other punishments.
UEFA hasn’t released any statements about actions from Benfica fans. Time will tell if the Portuguese club faces repercussions for the incident.
The second leg ended 3-3 with Inter winning 5-3 on aggregate. Inter will face rivals AC Milan in the semifinal.
