About 500 Anderlecht soccer fans and youths of African origin clashed last night in Brussels in fighting organised on the internet, a police spokeswoman said today.
Television pictures showed police using teargas and water cannon to defend themselves from a barrage of stones and bottles during the clashes near Anderlecht's stadium in the Belgian capital.
Police said the violence had been organised through a website calling for an "attack on all white fans of football club Anderlecht".
It was prompted by a confrontation between Anderlecht fans and a group of youths of north African origin after Anderlecht's Belgian cup final victory last Sunday.
"We have detained 114 people, of whom seven will be arrested and face charges," police spokeswoman Fanny Wellens said.
Fourteen police officers were injured during the clashes, two seriously, she said.
The rioting, which forced the closure of four nearby metro stations, lasted for four hours before some 240 police eventually gained control.
Wellens said police were still present in the area to prevent further rioting this evening.
