On-loan Sporting Gijon midfielder Andre Castro scored the only goal as Sevilla's European ambitions suffered a blow on a rowdy night at El Molinon.
Castro's sublime finish from an acute angle on 32 minutes gave the baying home fans reason for cheer as Sporting ended a seven-game winless run to boost their survival hopes.
A spicy atmosphere saw the home fans routinely throw paper balls at the Sevilla players whose frustration at the hostile atmosphere and Sporting's fine rearguard was evident by the end.
The final whistle prompted a skirmish involving a number of players, most notably Sevilla's Federico Fazio who had to be pulled away from a confrontation with home defender Gregory Arnolin.
To add to the theatre of the night the win constituted a personal triumph for Sporting boss Javier Clemente who has had run-ins with his Sevilla counterpart Michel after he dropped him from a Spain squad while in charge of the national team two decades ago.
The off-field drama overshadowed a wonderful strike from Castro, on loan from Porto, as he expertly controlled Adrian Colunga's lobbed pass before driving an angled shot in with his second touch on 32 minutes.
Sporting had belied their poor recent run in the early stages as Oscar Trejo and Formose Mendy forced Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop into action.
Sevilla then almost stole ahead when Jesus Navas' cross was headed against a post by Diego Perotti.
Sporting did grab the lead though thanks to Castro's fine finish. He was at full stretch when he took down Colunga's pass with his right foot before immediately driving in with his left.
Sevilla should have been level before the break though with Jose Antonio Reyes blasting an effort that was just tipped over by Juan Pablo while the striker then had claims for a foul in the area.
The referee disagreed with the away side's protests as Sporting held their lead into a second half when their defence stood firm under pressure.
Sevilla threw everything they could at them, with Navas pulling the strings, but Ivan Rakitic saw a good effort turned away while Andujar Coke scuffed an overhead kick over from six yards.
In the end Sporting could have had a second, Mendy shooting across the face after running 30 yards into the area, before the final whistle saw emotions boil over.
