Top-flight club are set to play French side in Europe on Thursday.
Tottenham Hotspur supporters were attacked by a group of 50 masked men, with seven injured, in a pub in Lyon on Wednesday night ahead of the North London club’s Europa League clash with the Ligue 1 outfit, local officials have confirmed.
A spokesman for the Lyon prefecture, Jean-Pierre Cazenave-Lacrouts, said that the violence broke out around 10:00 am (0900 GMT) at the Smoking Dog pub in the city centre where around 150 Spurs fans had gathered.
Stones and bricks were hurled through the pub windows and a group of masked men charged into the premises and fighting broke out with the English football fans.
The spokesman said that seven people had sustained minor injuries and that one person had been taken to hospital where he was later released.
Three of the attackers, all from Lyon, were arrested, he added, and were being detained on Thursday.
“One of them was known to belong to a French far-right grouping and the two others hooligans of the Lyon ultras fans,” Cazenave-Lacrouts said.
Tottenham confirmed that three of their fans had sustained “minor injuries” in the attack on the Lyon pub.
A Tottenham spokesman said: “Club officials attended an incident last night in Lyon. A group of around 50 people confronted fans. The situation was dealt with and arrests were made within the hour.
“Three fans sustained minor injuries and received prompt medical assistance. Spurs officials and stewards will be in the city throughout the day, along with matchday French police ahead of kick-off.”
Britain’s foreign ministry in London said it was aware of the attacks and was offering assistance.
It is the second time that Tottenham fans have been targeted by such an attack in recent months.
In November, fans of the club, which has a traditionally strong Jewish following, were ambushed inside a pub in Rome on the eve of their Europa League game against Lazio.
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