A man police suspect of launching an attack that caused the death of a Spanish football fan earlier this week gave himself up voluntarily to authorities in the northwestern city of Santiago on Thursday.

"A man, accompanied by his lawyer, presented himself before the judge who is investigating the case in Santiago," a police spokesperson told Reuters on Thursday.

"We are in the process of confirming that he is the suspect we are looking for. We believe it is him."

Police had appealed earlier in the day for a man they were seeking to come forward.

Deportivo Coruna supporter Manuel Rios Suarez, 31, died after he was attacked by a member of the club's radical group, known as the Riazor Blues. He had been watching his side beat Galician rivals Santiago Compostela 1-0 in a King's Cup first round match on Tuesday.

The group said on Thursday they had decided to disband in response to criticism levelled at them since the death.

"The group has got out of control in recent years," spokesman Arturo Revelle told Spanish radio station Onda Cero. "Maybe we should have taken this measure some time ago because football should be an excuse to enjoy yourself with your mates.

"The group has now come to an end and anyone who wants to behave violently can no longer hide among us."

Eye-witness accounts of the incident that led to the death said the victim had been set on by one of the Riazor Blues after he had tried to intervene to prevent an attack on a young boy wearing a Compostela shirt outside the stadium.

"One of the fans turned round, jumped into the air and kicked him with his two feet," Rios's girlfriend was quoted as saying in Spanish daily El Mundo.

"When he was on the ground, the fan apologised because he saw that he was supporting the same team," she added.

"Manuel began to feel unwell and had to sit down on some nearby grass. We got scared because he started to bleed from his nose and so we quickly called an ambulance."

A spokesperson from the Santiago hospital where Rios was taken said he was dead on arrival.

Close

Today's Top News		Top Sports News
+'China explores space for peaceful purposes' ( 2003-10-10) +Determined to defend Diaoyu Islands ( 2003-10-10) +Floods force 20,000 to relocate ( 2003-10-10) +Better SARS prevention urged ( 2003-10-10) +Japanese urged to be aware of China's laws ( 2003-10-10)		+Ma Lin, Wang Hao enter last eight at men's World Cup ( 2003-10-10) +Kobe Bryant arrives for day in court ( 2003-10-10) +Clijsters hammers Hantuchova, Capriati flops ( 2003-10-10) +Second man bailed in England gang-rape probe ( 2003-10-10) +Tennis-Top seed Federer survives scare ( 2003-10-10)