This is the moment Portuguese cops resort to firing their guns in the air to bring a football fight under control.

The pitch-side brawl erupted following the clash between Olimpico de Montijo and Vitoria de Setubal B in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in Portugal on the afternoon of Sunday, 17th October.

Public Security Police (PSP) officers had to intervene to try to separate brawling players from both teams, which compete in a regional league, who had also been joined by a number of spectators.

The footage shows how three officers brandish their handguns and fire 10 shots into the air between them to try to disperse the fight, despite children being present at the time.

Shockingly, one of the officers can be seen holding one of the players involved in the brawl with one hand and pointing his gun towards his head with the other.

The PSP has since opened an internal inquiry into the conduct of the officers in question after the footage filmed from the stadium’s stands was shared by local media.

Despite opening the disciplinary inquiry, the PSP said the officers fired warning shots to try to restore order in the stadium as a justification for their actions.

According to the PSP, which is Portugal’s main preventive police force, no one was injured by the officers’ actions.

Vitoria de Setubal B coach Paulo Martins said of the officers’ conduct: “If the police hadn’t opened fire to end the shambles, it would have been much better.”

Vitoria de Setubal, of which Vitoria de Setubal B is the reserve team, is the seventh most decorated club in Portugal, having last gained silverware in 2008.