Franz Ferdinand have been out of the studio for several years now -- and their last few singles didn't even chart in most parts of the world -- but that doesn't mean their fan base has forgotten about them. Quite the contrary, in fact, as Brazilian police discovered during a recent festival gig that ended with some fans suffering the effects of pepper spray and tear gas.

As NME reports, the trouble started when the festival organizers were surprised by the number of would-be concertgoers who arrived, and ultimately had to close the gates of the park where the show was taking place. Some fans decided to get around the problem -- literally -- by climbing the gates, at which point the police stepped in.

The festival organizers have issued a statement expressing regret for the incident, while claiming the police's actions were necessary due to growing concern over the fans' unruly behavior. Some attendees, naturally, have disagreed with that point of view, with at least one concertgoer lamenting the "ultraviolent police here" who "think they’re battling criminals all the time."

Franz Ferdinand, meanwhile, have taken to Twitter to share their concern for fans caught in the melee; singer Alex Kapranos told followers that he hopes "any fans caught outside the gig tonight were OK and weren't hurt in this collision with the police I'm hearing about."

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