Dubai police make several arrests over disturbances after a local soccer match

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Dubai police arrested several people involved in fights after a weekend soccer match between UAE Pro League clubs Shabab Al Ahli and Al Wasl in a rare disturbance in the tightly policed sheikhdom.

Officers used surveillance footage to identify suspects, Maj. Gen. Abdullah Al Ghaith said in a statement Wednesday. Police didn’t say how many people were arrested.

Al Wasl won the match on Saturday 2-1. Angry Shabab Al Ahli fans threw water bottles at Al Wasl fans and on the soccer field, while Al Wasl fans lit smoke flares and hurled water bottles. Local media reported that fans threw stones, clashed outside the stadium and confronted Shabab Al Ahli defender Bogdan Planic as he made his way to the team bus before security guards intervened.

The UAE Football Association on Tuesday demanded both soccer clubs pay fines over the fights and swearing. Shabab Al Ahli was fined $19,000, while Al Wasl was fined more than $21,000.

Political parties and labor unions are banned in the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdoms including Dubai. Broad laws severely restrict freedom of speech and protests. A middle finger raised in a traffic dispute, a text message calling someone a name or swearing in public easily can spark criminal cases — something that foreign tourists may not realize until it’s too late.