Soccer fan shot dead by policeman

A policeman shot dead a Paris St Germain fan and seriously injured another late on Thursday following the French team's defeat by Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Cup, police sources said.

Early indications suggested the plainclothes policeman came to the rescue of a French supporter of the Israeli team who was attacked by PSG fans outside the stadium.

A group of up to 150 fans then turned on the policeman.

At first he let off a tear gas canister to try to disperse his assailants, then fired his gun, killing one man immediately and injuring another.

Sources said the PSG fans appeared to be far-right sympathisers and were chanting "France for the French" as they confronted the Hapoel supporter. The lone policeman was black.

The Paris prosecutor's office was expected to open a formal investigation into the killing on Friday.

The explosion of violence came after PSG suffered a shock 4-2 loss to their Tel Aviv opponents.

Source: REUTERS
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