Lisbon, Oct 1 (IANS): Portuguese football club Benfica on Thursday issued a statement in which it apologised for the launching of flares from the stands where its fans were sitting at Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium, when they beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the second round of Group C of the European Champions League.
In a statement on the club's website, Benfica said it regrets the incidents caused by a minority of fans and apologised to Atletico Madrid and their fans, especially those who were affected by the irresponsible actions, reports Efe.
The launch of several flares from the stands of Benfica fans occurred in the first half and forced the match to be stopped for a couple of minutes.