15 fans of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv arrested in Greece

THESSALONIKI, Greece (AP) — Greek police arrested 15 fans of Israeli soccer club Maccabi Tel Aviv after finding them in possession of smoke bombs, flares and firecrackers before a Europa Conference League match against Aris.

Police said the fans, between the ages of 16 and 35, were detained ahead of Thursday’s match during a security check. The arrests were announced Friday morning.

All 15 were charged with misdemeanor counts of violating the law on sports fan violence, and possession of flares and of flare launchers, authorities said. Five of the suspects are minors and were released pending trial in juvenile court at a later date. The 10 adults were to appear in court later Friday.

Aris won the match 2-1 but Maccabi Tel Aviv advanced 3-2 on aggregate.

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