Europa League Part of epidemic of shocking fan behaviour

Rome was the setting for the latest shameful incident involving visiting football fans and the homeless. On this occasion the guilty parties were Sparta Prague supporters, who were in town to watch their side take on Lazio in the Europa League.

A group of Czech fans crowded round a homeless woman in the Italian capital and pretended to relieve themselves on her. As if that weren't enough, one of the fans in question then proceeded to actually start urinating. The whole sorry episode was captured on video by a Spanish tourist.

This week has seen several examples of supporters crossing the line in their behaviour and doing the opposite of covering football in glory. On Tuesday, several PSV followers humiliated a number of Romanian women who were begging in Madrid's Plaza Mayor, throwing coins at them and insulting them, including using racist slurs.

Similar distasteful scenes occurred in Barcelona, where Arsenal fans' antics included having fun at the expense of beggars, as well as causing damage to the metro. To be fair to the English supporters, at one point they did go around and collect money in a hat for a homeless man with a cane, only to then tease him by dropping in a note and taking it out again.