Season 10/11 - March

CSKA Sofia punished for crowd violence - 01/03/2011

Source : Reuters

CSKA Sofia must play their next home game at a neutral ground after serious crowd trouble disrupted their league clash with bitter city rivals Levski on Saturday.

The 31-times Bulgarian champions were also fined 6,000 levs ($4,240) by the Bulgarian Football Union's disciplinary commission on Tuesday.

Police forced 3,500 CSKA fans out of Levski's Georgi Asparuhov stadium at halftime after they broke the safety fences and pelted police with fireworks and other objects during the first half.

The ugly scenes continued outside the stadium in the Bulgarian capital's district of Poduene with fighting and buses, cars and shops damaged.

Police, who denied using heavy-handed tactics, arrested 23 fans on Saturday but said the number will increase as offenders are identified from video footage.

The BFU fined Levski 3,000 levs for poor organisation and for fans throwing objects on the pitch.

CSKA won the "eternal derby" 3-1.

BFU president Borislav Mihaylov met with Sports Minister Svilen Neykov earlier on Tuesday to discuss ways of combating hooliganism.

Old Firm game violence targeted - 01/03/3011

Source : UKPA

Police are set to crack down on drink-fuelled violence linked to Wednesday's Old Firm clash, officers have warned.

More than 229 people were arrested in the Strathclyde force area for offences the last time Rangers and Celtic met.

In some cases, those arrested were said to have been driven 50 miles as police cells filled up.

Speaking ahead of the fifth Old Firm tie of the season, Strathclyde Police Assistant Chief Constable Campbell Corrigan said: "It's clear that some people continue to drink excessively around the times of these high-profile matches and do so over a sustained period of time.

"As a result, they get drunk, become full of aggression and inevitably end up getting into bother. Alcohol is the problem, football is just the excuse.

"This has to stop. Alcohol-fuelled violence in all forms, whether at home, within licensed premises or out on the streets, is absolutely unacceptable. It's time to break the culture of drinking to excess."

Mr Corrigan also said sectarian and racist behaviour and abuse at football games, as well as provoking opposing fans and players, was "completely out of order and will simply not be tolerated".

He said Football Banning Orders for up to 10 years could be handed out along with "hefty fines" for the "senseless conduct".

"It's ridiculous to think that there is a minority of individuals who think they'll get away with this type of behaviour; naivety on their part," he added.

At the last Old Firm match on February 20, 16 men were arrested within the grounds of Celtic Park for alleged offences of a sectarian nature. Five have since received a Football Banning Order from two to three years and fines ranging from £130 to £400, police said.

Arsenal fans accused of joining mob that attacked police after Manchester United knocked Gunners out of Champions League - 01/03/2011

Source : Daily Mirror.co.uk

Six Arsenal fans joined a mob attacking police after their team lost a Champions League semi-final at home, a court heard yesterday.

Yobs went on the rampage outside the ground as Manchester United beat the Gunners 3-1 in May 2009.

Disappointed fans left the Emirates Stadium long before the final whistle and had running battles with police in nearby streets, Blackfriars crown court heard.

Nick Alexander, prosecuting, said: “Because the match went so badly, the atmosphere along Holloway Road turned ugly.”

Police, hearing reports of a “large-scale disturbance”, raced to the scene and found a PC being savagely beaten.

Anthony Groves, 49, of Berks, Danny Ely, 26, of Kent, Terence Nicholson, 41, of Central London, Wayne Simpson, 33, of Huddersfield, Mark Gooda, 44, and Wayne Gilby, 38, both of North London, all deny affray.

United fans ‘beaten by French police’ at Marseille Champions League match - 02/03/2011

Source : Manchester Evening News

An MP is backing calls for an investigation after United fans claimed their lives were put at risk by French riot police.

Tony Lloyd, who represents Manchester Central, has urged UEFA to launch a probe into allegations supporters were subjected to baton charges and feared a repeat of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster after being crushed at the end of the Champions League clash in Marseilles last Wednesday.

The Football Supporters Federation has filed a dossier of eyewitness accounts which they will present to European football’s governing body.

The main complaint is that the 3,000 Reds fans were led down narrow passageways and could only exit through one 5ft wide gate after the final whistle.

Mr Lloyd said: "It appears as though the policing operation was based on the reputations of fans 20 years ago. Football supporters should be able to go anywhere without the fear of arbitrary arrest and molestation.

"These are strong allegations and they have to be answered.

"UEFA has got a responsibility to fans. If the claims are true then this is unacceptable and there have to be consequences."

Law lecturer Dr Geoff Pearson’s statement appears in the dossier. He says: "But for exceptional restraint from the United fans, a serious incident of disorder could have taken place at any of the many flash-points created by the police strategy."

Roger Brodie, a United fan and police officer of 30 years, said he saw an elderly man suffer ‘a brutal blow to the head’ and added: "I honestly thought he might die."

Two police officers investigated over violence at Liverpool-Everton derby - 02/03/2011

Source : Daily Mirror .co.uk

TWO policemen face possible football violence charges following claims they were involved in sickening clashes at a derby match.

The off-duty officers, both Everton fans, were allegedly spotted by a Police Community Support Officer as Everton and ­Liverpool fans brawled on January 16.

One of them is said to be part of Merseyside Police’s elite Matrix squad tackling gun crime and gang culture in the city.

Fights between fans were sparked after a man suffered a fractured jaw in an attack near Anfield Stadium.

A 34-year-old male was arrested and is currently awaiting trial for assault.

A force spokesman said both officers have been ­disciplined and placed on “restrictive duties” while the claims are investigated.

Celtic Glasgow - Glasgow Rangers - Coupe d'Ecosse - 02/03/2011

Source : Heraldscotland.com

Call for Old Firm alcohol ban after cup mayhem Call for Old Firm alcohol ban after mayhem

ALCOHOL sales should be banned around Old Firm matches following the incendiary clash which led to more than 200 crimes and a string of ugly scenes both on and off the pitch, a top police officer has said.

Assistant Chief Constable Campbell Corrigan, who is in charge of policing football in Strathclyde, said the country had so far failed to tackle the violent culture surrounding the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers supporters and that police could no longer afford to deal with the aftermath of the games.

One estimate yesterday put the cost to society of the seven Glasgow derbies to be played this season at £40 million in terms of policing, prosecutions, hospital care and social services intervention.

Mr Corrigan said: “What we have to ask ourselves is what is the long-term cultural cost of this game? We have been arresting people around this fixture for years. Has it made a difference? I don’t think it has.

“We need to talk about limiting access to alcohol immediately before and a short time after the game in Glasgow.”

As condemnation followed the scenes at Wednesday night’s fixture, First Minister Alex Salmond called the first-ever Old Firm summit at Holyrood to bring together the clubs, police and football officials to discuss the issues raised by the explosive encounter.

The game, which saw a string of flare-ups involving both players and team officials, climaxed in a touchline confrontation between Celtic boss Neil Lennon and Rangers coach Ally McCoist shortly after the final whistle.

Police had earlier instructed the two men, via club security, to calm down during half-time.

An Scottish Football Association investigation will look at all aspects, including refereeing decisions.

Mr Salmond said the connection between alcohol, football and domestic abuse was “repugnant, disgraceful and utterly unacceptable”.

A total of 187 violent or anti-social crimes were dealt with by officers on Wednesday night, almost double the normal rate, with 40 incidents of domestic violence recorded. A further 34 arrests were made within the stadium.

An 18-year-old girl remains in hospital with serious head injuries following an incident outside a pub in Yoker, Glasgow, after the match. Six arrests were made.

Stewart Regan, head of the SFA, said the “unedifying sight” of the McCoist and Lennon confrontation “exacerbated an already incendiary atmosphere inside the stadium and throughout the west of Scotland”.

Rangers said last night the increased tension between the clubs was partly due to incidents at earlier games. Lennon said Wednesday’s spat with McCoist occurred in “the heat of the moment” and that the two men had met following the match, with the matter now closed.

The two sides are due to meet again a week on Sunday, with police suggesting there was not enough time to reschedule the match.

Mr Corrigan said that he would be raising the role of alcohol in the violence surrounding the derby, which on average requires 1000 officers on duty, half of them in Glasgow city centre.

He said restrictions were placed on alcohol sales in the most “highly charged” derbies on the continent, including Milan.

“I would suggest ways we could do that here and look at the opening hours of off-licences and pubs. If we collectively agree alcohol is the factor, what would the impact be if you came out of the game and you were not able in that hour to go into a pub? Would that propel you to go home? Would that give respite from the disorder and the violence?”

“In terms of policing, and the public sector in general, I don’t remember it being quite as tight with resources. Seven games impacts on what we have to do.”

Mr Corrigan said he did not think a suggestion from Les Gray, of the Scottish Police Federation, that matches could be played behind closed doors was desirable.

He also described the actions of Lennon and McCoist as “naive” and added: “We will have to deal with the consequences of a two-man confrontation. That has a knock-on effect. It is unacceptable and it doesn’t help us do what we are trying to do.”

Mr Gray claimed last night Strathclyde Police could no longer afford to police the Old Firm games and that drastic action was required.

He gave a “speculative” estimate that the cost of the Old Firm games would be £40m, a figure arrived at using statistics from the Violence Reduction Unit, which calculated that every assault cost society £250,000 given policing, prosecution and medical costs.

Mr Gray added: “Everybody in the public sector is being asked to tighten their belts. Strathclyde Police can’t afford to police the Old Firm. It is no longer a game of football. It is a catalyst for a whole raft of problems. What happened on Wednesday sets us back 20 years.”

Godoy Cruz (Argentina) - Peñarol (Uruguay) - Copa Libertadores - 02/03/2011

Source : Losandes.com.ar + Quenonino.com

Penarol supporters (more than 1.000) situated in the northern area of the stadium fought with police.
It must be also noticed that these same supporters have attacked Gutierrez Sport Club players (3rd argentinean division) they saw on their road to the stadium.
They verbally threatened them with weapons before stripping them their clothes.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Birmingham City charged by the FA with failing to prevent fans from going on the pitch against Aston Villa - 04/02/2011

Source : Goal.com

The Football Association has charged Birmingham City for failing to ensure that spectators did not enter the field of play following the serious crowd trouble after the club’s League Cup match against Aston Villa.

The Blues won the match 2-1 against their local rivals at St Andrew's on December 10, 2010, and the trouble started after the final whistle.

Five people were arrested and 14 people were injured as home supporters rushed onto the pitch and flares were hurled at the away supporters inside the ground.

The violence took place just a day before Fifa were deciding on whether to give England the 2018 World Cup.

A Football Association spokesman said at the time: "We wholly condemn the actions of any
individuals who have been involved in the scenes of disorder at St Andrew's.

"The FA abhors acts of violent behaviour and we urge the clubs and authorities to identify any individuals involved in disorder, and impose the stiffest available sanctions, including banning orders."

Birmingham have until March 11 to respond to the charges against them.

FC Biel Benne - FC Basel - Cup - 03/03/2011

Source : 20Minutes.ch

La victoire de Benne en Coupe a été marquée par des incidents violents. Des voitures ont été brûlées, la police a utilisé des balles en caoutchouc et des gaz lacrymogènes.

At final kick off, local supporters invaded the pitch as they were happy about the victory against Basel in this cup game but it seems some troublemakers from Basel tried to attack Benne players.
Policemen (140) took position and used flash balls and pepper sprays against Basel supporters.
Two supporters were wounded, one from Benne, with a broken arm and one Basel one by a plastic bullet.
Outside, away supporters stayed violent with locals and the area of the train station was closed for 10 minutes for security reasons.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Young Boys Bern - FC Zürich - Cup - 02/03/2011

Source : Romandie News

Brawnl between policemen and supporters

Severe troubles erupted Wednesday night in Bern with hooligans and policemen just at the end of this cup game, which opposed FC Zurich to Young Boys.
Police used a water canon and flash balls. Eleven troublemakers were arrested.

Supporters from the capital tried to fought with a group of FC Zurich supporters, said Bern police, which have escorted Zurich supporters back to the train station.

Bern troublemakers threw bricks in direction of police who used flash balls and pepper sprays.

Eintracht Frankfurt - 1. FC Kaiserslautern - 05/03/2011

Source : The Local.de + SWR.de + Noows.de + Echo-online.de

Violence ahead of Bundesliga match

A fight broke out at a Frankfurt train station before Saturday's Bundesliga football match between Kaiserslautern and Frankfurt. The home fans threw fireworks at a train filled with Kaiserslautern supporters.

The emergency brake was pulled on a train containing 900 football fans just before it entered the station near Frankfurt's Commerzbank-Arena. The Frankfurt fans then attacked the train, while further fights broke out between the station and the stadium.

Fans of both clubs threw bottles at one another, while the police said they surrounded and kettled some 100 Frankfurt fans to try to stem the violence.

The police had several hundred officers at the scene who attempted to guide the two sets of fans to the stadium separately. A police spokesman said that fights of this scale were unusual.

The train was heavily damaged, with several windows smashed, and the line between Mainz and Frankfurt had to be suspended for 90 minutes.

The so-called "Ultras" had already made their presence felt in the morning in the Frankfurt inner city, where around 400 hooligans threw fireworks at policemen and passers-by.

Argentina : Claypole - Victoriano Arena - 03/03/2011

Source : Independent.co.uk + YouTube

Referee brandishes 36 red cards in one match

A referee has set a record by showing 36 red cards in a single game, dismissing all the players, substitutes and coaches.

The crazy scenes occurred in the fifth tier of Argentinean football between rival teams Claypole and Victoriano Arenas.

With two players already dismissed in the first half, the second descended into chaos when players went lunging into tackles and there were repeated stand-offs between them. It boiled over when a mass brawl erupted that saw the managers and coaches enter the pitch with their fists flying. Some fans were also seen joining in.

Referee Damian Rubino would later file his match report, in which he saw fit to serve every player with a red card, along with a further 14 people, a mixture of subs and coaches.

Victoriano Arenas manager Domingo Sganga, discussing the manic scenes in Buenos Aires, was quoted as saying: "They wanted to kill me". Meanwhile his opposite number Sergio Micielli says the referee overreacted to the brawl: "Most players were trying to separate people. The ref was confused".

Rubino's red cards could yet be overruled by the local FA according to reports.

Sampdoria - Cesena - 06/03/2011

Source : AGI

POLICE CALLED IN TO DISPERSE ANGRY SAMPDORIA FANS IN GENOA

Police have dispersed angry Sampdoria fans blocking the team's exit from Genoa's 'Luigi Ferraris' stadium.
A group of fans stood outside the stadium's vehicle access gate, awaiting the Sampdoria bus to leave the premises. Police charged the group of disgruntled fans several times in order to allow team buses to leave the stadium.

Napoli - Brescia - 06/03/2011

Source : AGI

7 BRESCIA FANS ARE DETAINED IN NAPLES

Digos city police arrested a fan of the home club and seven fans of the visiting team Brescia following the clashes which broke out this afternoon before the Napoli-Brescia match. The footage filmed by the scientific police led Digos to identify and arrest some of the Brescia fans, who fought back the attacking home team fans around the stadium...

FC Sevilla - Sporting Gijon - 01/03/2011

Source : Sports.in.gr

At the end of the game, the Gijon player's bus was pelted with rocks. One window was smashed up.
No one was injured.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

FC Twente - FC Utrecht - Cup - 02/03/2011

Source : Nieuws.nl

Three Utrecht players ran away after the game as they were charged by a group of 150 Twente supporters as they returned to their cars.
Supporters kicked the cars.
Two people, who had nothing to do with this incident, were also arrested, one of them because he gave a punch to a policeman.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Colombia: Fernández Vial - Naval de Talcahuano - Friendly game - 05/03/2011

Source : http://www.estrellaconce.cl

Thousand of supporters from both sides fronted in the area of Boca Sur Viejo.
Immediately they fought, threw rocks and using knives.
Only a few policemen were on duty for this game and they only intervened after 30 minutes of fights.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

VfL Bochum - Karlsruher SC - 05/03/2011

Source : Frankfurter Rundschau

After the game, on the A5 motorway, troubles erupted with a bus of KSC supporters and about twenty Eintracht Frankfurt ones, who, earlier, provoked severe brawl against Kaiserslautern.
One fast-food restaurant was damaged for 25.000 €, said police.

Translation Underground Fans

Colombia : Bogota police avoid a brawl - 04/03/2011

Source : Caracol.com.co

Bogota police avoided a fight between supporters, planned by Facebook, opposing 80 supporters from Millonarios and America Cali.
Police forces discovered rocks, batons and knives.
Police said troublemakers will receive a 6 month stadium ban.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

AJ Auxerre - Paris SG - 05/03/2011

Source : Le Parisien

Five PSG supporters were arrested yesterday night. Two of them because they used firecrackers. They are all members of the collective "Freedom for subscribers"
If only 114 Paris fans made the official trip to Auxerre, about 500 others, against the chairman of their team, also present.

Grasshopper Club Zürich - Young Boys Berne - 05/03/2011

Source : Romandie News

Saturday, Young Boys supporters have attacked Zurich policemen.
Two of them were wounded, like one Bern supporter.

Four other Bern supporters were arrested and detained for a few hours by Zurich police.

Bern supporters waited for their train, at the Alstetten train station, when someone who was not part of the group had a health problem.
Police tried to help her but were attacked by supporters.

Two of them were wounded with rocks and other missiles.
Police used tear gas and flash balls to restore order.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Cyprus Police Arrest 32 Football Fans After Violent Clashes with Riot Officers at League Match - 07/03/2011

Source : http://www.thenationalherald.com/article/49461

A Cyprus police spokesman says 32 people have been arrested after hundreds of football fans threw stones, knives and molotov cocktails in clashes with riot police ahead of local derby.

Michalis Katsounotos said Monday that tear gas was used to disperse the crowd of about 500 people who tried to enter Antonis Papadopoulos stadium in Larnaca for a match between host Anorthosis Famagusta and Omonia Nicosia on Sunday.

Ex Estudiantes hooligans leader runs over, kills two children - 07/03/2011

Source : http://www.buenosairesherald.com/article/60529/ex-estudiantes-hooligans-leader-runs-over-kills-two-children

Ángel Omar “El Hache” Alonso, ex hooligans head for Estudiantes de La Plata, was arrested for running over two children, ages 2 and 3, who died as a result of the incident. Alonso was driving at over 120 km per hour in Formosa Province.

Police sources said that the arrest was made last night when Alonso was driving a Chevrolet Astra through an avenue in the city of Pirané (Formosa) and hit a motorcycle, which was being driven by a woman and her two children.

Both kids, ages 2 and 3, died shortly thereafter.

Bulgarian Interior Min to Tackle Football Hooligans - 06/03/2011

Source : http://www.novinite.com/view_news.php?id=125912

Bulgarian Minister of Interior Tsvetan Tsvetanov has called a meeting with officials from the Sofia Municipality and the Bulgarian Football Union to discuss measures to prevent hooligan actions.

The occasion for the meeting, to be held Monday, is a number of incidents that took place during and after the derby match between top Bulgarian teams Levski and CSKA in Sofia on February 26.

Five busses of the public transportation system and private cars were badly damaged and a number of window shops broken after the game, which ended 3:1 for guetsts CSKA.

Over the break, police had to force CSKA supporters out of Levski's Georgi Asparuhov stadium, after they started to throw heavy objects and incendiary devices.

Some 30 people were arrested in connection with the derby.

Officials have argued for harsher measures and stricter laws on order during sports events.

Serbian fan who led riot at Euro 2012 qualifier in Italy gets jail sentence - 08/03/2011

Source : The Associated Press

A Serbian fan was convicted Tuesday for instigating a riot at a European Championship qualifier in Italy in October, receiving a jail sentence of three years and three months.

Wearing a black mask to cover his face, 29-year-old Ivan Bogdanov climbed onto a barrier separating fans from the field, used a wire cutter to slice apart a mesh fence and launched fireworks onto the pitch as he encouraged other Serbia fans to do the same.

UEFA awarded Italy a 3-0 win over Serbia after the Oct. 12 match was stopped in the seventh minute with the score 0-0. UEFA also ordered Serbia to play its home match against Northern Ireland on March 25 in an empty stadium.

Three other Serbian fans received slightly shorter sentences at the trial in Genoa, with charges ranging from resisting public officials to damaging public property, as well as violating rules for behaviour inside stadiums, the ANSA news agency said.

"They come from a culture where when you make a mistake you pay for it. They know they committed a crime," said the fans' lawyer, Riccardo Di Rella.

Four other Serbia fans made a plea bargain last month whereby they were released from jail but banned from Italy for five years.

Bogdanov and the other fans on trial have been held in Genoa since the match.