More than a dozen football fans injured after car ploughs into crowd ahead of big match in Spain

A few minutes before the start of the crunch Espanyol-Barcelona football match, that was being played at the RCDE stadium yesterday evening, a car ploughed into a crowd of fans outside and left 13 people injured.

Apparently, the 34-year-old driver lost control of her vehicle after it was surrounded by a crowd of supporters. The car had entered the pedestrian area and was seen accelerating and reversing several times. The police subsequently arrested the motorist at the scene.

A total of 16 people were attended by the medical services - three were discharged at the football ground. One of the injured is the son of Badalona mayor Xavier García Albiol, as confirmed by the father.

The match was stopped in the 9th minute, when a section of the crowd called on the Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia to pause the game because of the incident. However, it was soon announced that the situation was "under control, with no serious injuries" and the match resumed shortly afterwards.