KABUL, Feb 15: Between 15 and 20 Afghans and three foreign troops were injured on Friday as angry mobs brawled outside Kabul’s football stadium during a match between Kabul United and a team of international soldiers, an official said.

International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) spokesman Major Neal Peckham said Afghan police had fired about 12 shots over the heads of the crowd, while an eyewitness saw Afghan police kicking and whipping stone-throwing fans trying to get into the already full stadium.

Three soldiers suffered minor cuts to the face while “15 to 20 Afghans” were injured, Peckham said.

About 600 ISAF soldiers were at the match, half of them deployed to keep order outside the stadium, the rest cheering on their team, which comprised soldiers from countries such as Denmark, Britain, France and Italy.

Some 25,000 fans packed into the ground for the historic match between the de-facto national side and an ISAF team, with about another 15,000 being refused entry because there was no more room.

The violence erupted as fans tried to force their way into the stadium past ISAF personnel, with stick-wielding Afghan police beating them back from the stadium’s six entrances.

Some in the crowd began throwing stones at police and ISAF troops, who used fire extinguishers on the crowd and brought in dogs and a squadron kitted out in riot gear.

They eventually restored calm by parking armoured vehicles across all gates into the stadium.

Inside the battle-scarred arena, fans and players observed a minute’s silence before the game in memory of Aviation Minister Abdul Rahman.—AFP