Jordan opens probe into football violence

Amman: Jordan has launched a probe after fans of rival Jordanian football teams clashed following a match, injuring 150 people in violence that pointed to the deep ethnic divisions in the country.

The probe will look into what triggered the incidents after Al Wehdat beat arch-rival Al Faisali 1-0 in Friday night's game, Deputy Prime Minister Ayman Safadi said on Saturday.

"The government will monitor the results of the investigation and any legal action will be taken against those who broke the law and caused these unfortunate events," he said.

Police questioned a dozen people suspected of sparking the clashes.

Most of the injuries occurred when a large metal fence separating spectators from the playing field in the Amman stadium collapsed, police spokesman Col Ahmad Abu Hamad said. Thirty policemen were among the injured.

"The fans panicked, and in the stampede to get out the iron fence fell over," he told AFP, initially reporting that as many as 250 people were injured.

Al Faisali's supporters left the stadium first and began hurling bottles and stones at Al Wehdat's supporters from outside, triggering a stampede, said witness Ali Qasrawi.

He added that police sealed off the stadium's exits, trapping Al Wehdat supporters inside, and fired tear gas.

Al Faisali's players are mainly Jordanian, while Al Wehdat are mostly Jordanians of Palestinian origin and seen as representing the more than 1.8 million Palestinian refugees living in the kingdom.