Villarreal and Valencia did battle on Saturday night, with Los Che picking up a late point that temporarily lifted them out of the relegation zone in an entertaining encounter. However the 1-1 draw would later be marred by incidents after the game.

As fans left the stadium, three people with impairments left the stadium on their way home, and two of them were assaulted. Five hooded figures descended on them, keen to fight Villarreal fans in the words of one of their mothers, and left two of them in hospital. Mario, 21, who appeared on Cadena SER on Sunday night, was knocked unconscious after falling to the floor, and suffered major blows to the face, losing several teeth and breaking their jaw in two places.

Mario is now facing surgery next week once he has recovered sufficiently, while the other victim, 18, spent the night in the hospital too. Police are working to identify the culprits, who are believed to have traveled with the Valencia support due to images of similarly dressed individuals before the game.

“I just want justice to be done and all this to end now because people with disabilities are afraid to go out on the streets,” noted Mario at the end of the interview.

𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐝𝐨 𝐨𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥

El Villarreal CF condena y repudia la agresión a dos aficionados tras el partido de ayer

— Villarreal CF (@VillarrealCF) February 16, 2025

Villarreal put out a statement on Sunday condemning the attacks and all violence, noting that they will do all they can to help the police investigation, which is yet to vear any fruit. They also confirmed that one of those attacked formed part of their football team of people with diverse mental capabilities.

‘Ultra’ violence has spiked in recent years in Spain, with a very small minority of fans taking place in increasingly regular and organised fights. It is a problem that has more often than not come to a head during European clashes of late.