Sporting Lisbon lodges complaint about police hitting fan

LISBON, Portugal (AP) - Sporting Lisbon has complained to the police about what it called a "barbaric" assault by riot police on some of its fans.

The complaint came after Sporting fan club Juve Leo published security camera footage showing police beating a fan outside the club's premises late Sunday.

Two fans are seen in the video, which has no sound, speaking to several police officers. About a dozen riot police appear and push the two fans against a wall. One of the fans runs away and is hit as he runs by a riot policeman. He then reappears and attempts to run past the police into the premises. Police stop him and throw him to the ground, then repeatedly hit him with truncheons before carrying him away.

Police said on their Facebook page on Thursday that an inquiry had begun.

In April, Portugal's public prosecutor filed charges against a policeman who beat a middle-aged football fan in front of his two young sons. The video of that incident caused a national scandal.