More than a thousand Chinese soccer fans...

More than a thousand Chinese soccer fans stoned police and players, then went on a rampage, looting a hotel and a police station in protest of the detention of one unruly fan. More than 60 policemen were injured.

Forty-three people were arrested during the violence that began Monday and continued all night in the southwestern town of Nanchong in Sichuan province.

An official report said 13 of the policemen were seriously injured but did not say how many fans were hurt.

The riot began when several fans jumped onto the field to protest a referee’s call at the end of a 1-1 match between the Sichuan province and Tianjin city youth teams.

Police detained one worker for questioning, the report said, causing more than 1,000 fans to block the stadium gate, demanding his release.

The rioters began to throw bricks, stones and bottles at the police and retiring players, smashed windows and set fire to a police car.

After police escorted the players to a local police office and a hotel, the mob broke hotel windows and stole cigarettes and beer. Several dozen other people broke into the police office, damaged several rooms and stole cattle prods, handcuffs, cameras and fire-fighting equipment, the newspaper said.