Season 97/98

Everton FC - Aston Villa - 29/03/1998

Source: BBC

...there was also an incident in the Premiership match between Everton and Aston Villa at Goodison Park.

A fan ran on to the field, seemingly intent on arguing with the referee, but was led away by stewards and police before be got anywhere near the official.

England: Rugby: Sheffield Eagles - Salford - Cup - 29/03/1998

Source: BBC

...Trouble also broke out at the rugby league Silk Cut Challenge Cup semi-final between the Sheffield Eagles and Salford at Headingley in Leeds, when the referee Stuart Cummings was wrestled to the ground by a fan.

Hearts - Celtic - ??/03/1998

Source : Daily Record

CELTIC FAN BANNED AFTER MISSILE

A Celtic fan has been banned from Paradise - for throwing a cup on to the pitch.
The fan has had his season ticket confiscated over the incident at Saturday's home game.

And the 19-year-old, who has not been named, has been banned from Parkhead for TWO YEARS.

The fan, a student from Dumbarton, saw red during the crunch 0-0 clash with Celts' title rivals Hearts.

He hurled a cup full of liquid, believed to be tea or coffee, at Hearts midfielder Colin Cameron.

But Cameron didn't even notice the missile being thrown as he prepared to take a corner.

He only found out about it later from team-mate Gary Locke.

Celtic spokesman George Douglas said: "This type of behaviour is not acceptable at Celtic Park. We have acted swiftly and strongly because we wanted to give a clear message that this type of behaviour will not be tolerated by the club."

Celtic - Rangers - 17/03/1997

Source : The Mirror

Celtic fans go on rampage

A mob of angry Celtic fans who went on a two-mile wrecking spree in Derry after their team lost a vital derby was being hunted by police last night.

A stolen minibus, packed with around 20 football supporters, ploughed into 14 cars on three Protestant estates in the Waterside area of the city.

The fans from Derry were on their way home after watching Rangers beat Celtic 1-0 in a bar near the Donegal fishing village of Glengad.

Pedestrians dived for cover as the two tonne bus veered along the estates' narrow streets ramming cars.

One motorist was taken to hosptial with shoulder and neck injuries. A mother and her two young children were treated for shock.

Three cars were badly damaged. The fans fled but a crowd of horrified residents nabbed one man and handed him over to police.

He was arrested and released after questioning. The minibus was later recovered on the mainly Catholic Gobnascale estate.

One police officer said: "They were driving at anything that moved. It was totally reckless.

"We're very lucky we're not dealing with fatalities or serious injuries. There was no excuse for this and we are treating it as wanton sectarianism."

The rampage on Sunday mirrored the heated clashes which marred the Scottish Premier Division game.

Two players were sent off and gangs clashed outside the ground.

Linfield - Glentoran - 07/03/1998

Source : BBC News

Violence erupts at Belfast derby

Twenty police officers and several soccer fans were injured when trouble flared between rival supporters at a Belfast derby match.

Three people were arrested for public order offences after the fighting broke out on the terraces at Windsor Park between Linfield and Glentoran fans.

Officers moved in to separate the battling factions and both sets of fans turned on the RUC. The trouble was sparked by angry scenes on the pitch.

Police said officers came under a barrage of missiles, including stones, bottles and scaffolding planks, both on the terraces and outside the ground.

Among the injured taken to hospital were a policeman with a suspected broken leg and another with a serious eye injury caused when he was struck by a missile.

RUC Superintendent Paul Hindley said: "The scenes were disgraceful."

He said there would be a full investigation by the RUC and he understood the football authorities were looking into the on-pitch incidents.

Cliftonville - Crusaders - 07/03/1998

Source : BBC News

There was trouble in north Belfast at the match between Cliftonville and Crusaders.

A fight between players on the pitch led to crowd trouble. Police moved in quickly to separate fans and there were no injuries. One person was arrested.

England - Argentina - WC'98 played in St-Etienne - 29/06/1998

Source : CNN

French blamed for fights in St. Etienne

Minor scuffles caused when riot troops arrive, bars close

A sudden show of force by riot troops seeking to avoid violence before a World Cup playoff between England and Argentina triggered insults, scuffles and wild baton charges early Tuesday in the center of this industrial city.

Police arrested several English football fans and local toughs. There were some minor injuries, mostly caused during crowd stampedes.

In a separate incident by the stadium, local French-Tunisian youths insulted and attacked English fans, apparently in retaliation for skirmishes in Marseille two weeks ago, and English fans fought back. Police intervened, arresting about nine locals and an Englishman. Local youths burned several cars.

Trouble downtown began shortly after 11 p.m. Monday night, when a huge outdoor screen that showed the Netherlands -Yugoslavia game went blank. Its last image was a message saying it would not show the England-Argentina match Tuesday.

Also at 11 p.m., bars and restaurants shut their doors. Hundreds of police with riot helmets and shields moved in to clear the area.

Until then, hundreds of Englishmen, scores of Argentines, and a number of French youths had been drinking peacefully together in the balmy open air. A band played on a makeshift stage, and stands served up beer and hotdogs.

But the mood was already tense. Only 2,000 tickets had been made available in England for perhaps 30,000 people who are coming for the game. Scalper prices approach $800 each.

Some English fans yelled at the police and began singing what has become their World Cup trademark in the face of police and local opposition: "No surrender, no surrender to the IRA" -- a reference to troubles in Northern Ireland. Within minutes, there were scuffles in the streets.

Police officials had no immediate comment, but all sides -- including British police hooligan spotters -- faulted the French police.

"Why did they do that?" asked Ben Murphy, 22, an English engineering student from Lincoln, as he watched columns of nervous police in riot gear, backed by burly plainclothes officers, tighten cordons around the brightly lit City Hall square.

"This was ridiculous, just looking for trouble," said Mariano Recalde, 26, a lawyer who flew from Buenos Aires to watch Argentina play. "We're just trying to get to our hotel, but we're blocked in on all sides. The cops panic easily here, don't they?"

Farid Belaid, 22, a French-Algerian printer from a working-class suburb of Saint-Etienne, blamed the police for overreacting against young Arabs and English fans who, he said, they assumed were all troublemakers.

As police charged, some of the English threatened television cameramen, photographers and reporters, blaming them for the trouble.

An Englishman with a shaved head and earrings threw beer on one French photographer. Among obscenities, he shouted: "It's because of you they call us hooligans."

Shortly after, another English fan told the same photographer: "Tke your cameras and leave. You're not welcome here."

Two British policemen in football-fan dress, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said that French police might have avoided trouble by quietly isolating potential troublemakers ahead of time, while keeping their main force out of sight.

He confirmed that Scotland Yard had lent experts to spot fans likely to incite trouble. But, he added with a laugh, "Who's to say the French will listen?"

The British agreed that a match between England and Argentina, with their 32-year-old football grudge and the Falklands War of 1982, had serious potential for violence.

Local authorities are allowing beer and alcohol to be sold up until 11 p.m. Tuesday, which is just as the match ends. Then bars close, and police hope for the best.

Nigel Bobroff, a young company director from London, is taking no chances. He left his wife and 4-month-old daughter in Lyon, 36 miles away, while he sees the game.

With a laugh, he explained why: "England has the best football fans in the world, but the trouble is that it also has the worst."

Scotland: St Johnstone - Aberdeen - 04/10/1997

Source : YouTube

England - Colombia - WC'98 played in Lens - 26/06/1998

Source : BBC News

England fans spark fresh clashes

French police have arrested 42 England hooligans after clashes ahead of the England and Colombia game.
Police moved in after up to 500 fans gathered near Lens stadium and began hurling missiles at them.

Of those arrested, only five remained in custody an hour before the match, the Foreign Office said.

Separate disturbances broke out in the towns of Lille and Lens, hours before the start of England's vital World Cup match against Colombia.

Thousands of followers, many without tickets, had travelled to the towns. In Lens, all sales of alcohol were banned, so large numbers stopped off at Lille.

Lens had been trouble-free for most of the day. But the new clashes began as a group of supporters threw missiles such as drink cans at passing traffic beside a major roundabout by the station.

About 200 riot police, transferred from other areas for the event, moved in only to find themselves becoming the thugs' target.

Police charge at supporters

The officers were subjected to a sustained volley of bottles before charging into the crowd to disperse it.

As England fans fled up surrounding streets, police made a number of arrests and sealed off the six streets leading from the roundabout.

The normally quiet town was the scene of trouble by German fans last week. A French policeman is still in a coma following those riots.

Streets around the football ground were sealed off so no one without a ticket could get through and police were out in force.

In Lille, tension mounted as English fans threw bottles and pint glasses at riot police.

More than 120 officers had sealed off the main exit to the railway station as fans gathered in streets outside nearby bars, chanting "football's coming home".

Police took 12 England fans into custody for drunkenness.

French authorities had attempted to create a near alcohol-free corridor from the English Channel, via Calais, to Lens, with the alcohol sales ban.

But many fans had taken their own cans and bottles, determined to enjoy the atmosphere.

Thousands unable to see the match

Up to 10,000 of the 40,000 expected were believed to have travelled without tickets to the game.

Some cafes and restaurants remained closed during the alcohol restrictions, fuelling fears of disturbances.

"Thousands of fans will be left with nowhere to go. The bars and restaurants were where they wanted to watch the match and it's going to be very difficult for them," said Alison Pilling, of the Football Supporters Association.

Meanwhile, in Belgium, 50 England fans out of 85 arrested were sent home after violence erupted overnight.

They were escorted by police onto the catamaran and then onto buses and trains.

Chelsea FC - VFB Stuttgart (played in Stockholm) - 13/05/1998

Source : Dailymotion

PSG - RC Lens - French Cup - 02/05/1998

Source : Mail

Italy - England - 12/10/1997

Source: Reuters

In total 10.000 english fans made the transfer to Rome, mainly with charters.
The italian police estimated the presence of about 700 hooligans. Incidents occured in the center of Rome already on friday evening. An english fan has been wounded. Saturday, clashes erupted in the center of the city, then during the game in the stadium the police had to make several charges on english hooligans.

Italian Ultras of Lazio, Verona and Napoli were present in the stadium.  They make a provocation on english fans by showing a flag 'Victory - IRA'. The reaction of english fans was violent, the police imediatly charge on the italian ultras to take the flag.

Charges of the police in the stadium

A policeman is wounded and taken away to the medical service

"One of England's most notorious soccer hooligans was at the centre of the worst clashes in the Olympic Stadium. Stephen Hickmott was  pictured throwing punches during the violence on Saturday night.

And last night, he was in prison in Rome after being detained  with 22 other English fans.
A lieutenant in the notorious Chelsea "Headhunters" gang, he is nicknamed The General and was deported from Norway in  1993 for soccer violence.

In 1987, he was sentenced to eight years in jail for soccer-related violence after a police undercover operation  infiltrated one of Britain's most vicious groups of soccer thugs.

But his conviction was later quashed and he continued his violence abroad.  Hickmott, a 41-year-old engineer from Tunbridge Wells in  Kent, has often bragged about his admiration for right-wing groups such as the National Front. He has a long list of convictions dating back to when he left school at 15.  Hickmott's latest shameful act of violence calls into question the laws designed to combat hooliganism. "

RSC Anderlecht - FC Bruges - 26/04/1998

Source: Bruges website

This game offered FC Bruges a new title. Before the game, a large mob consisting of Bruges hooligans joined by some regular fans, fought running battles with the Brussels riot police. At the visitor's entrance, the group first started trowing beer cans towards the police. Later on, coppers where also attacked with fences and traffic signs. Punches were thrown and police had to use their water canon.

During the game, the Anderlecht mob, the M4 Casuals (now K4 Casuals), all jumped on the fences with one or two invading the pitch. The game was stopped about 10 minutes, when police entered the scene.

RSC Anderlecht - FC Bruges - 26/04/1998

Source: Bruges website

Ce match voyait le FCB fêter un nouveau titre.
Avant la rencontre, un gros groupe des hooligans brugeois, rejoint par des supporters lambdas affrontera les forces de l'ordre aux alentours du stade, utilisant divers objets (notamment des barrières et panneaux de signalisation) et projectiles.
La police du alors utiliser une arroseuse.
Pendant la rencontre, les M4 Casuals d'Anderlecht interromperont la rencontre quelques minutes, avec notamment l'un ou l'autre pénétrant sur la pelouse.
Intervention de la police.

England - Tunisia (played in Marseille) - WC'98 - 15/06/1998

Source : Slamsports.com + Reuters

English clash with Tunisians

For the second straight day, English World Cup soccer fans were at the centre of violence in the city's Old Port, clashing with Tunisian supporters and riot police Sunday.
The clashes came as England's national team prepared to face Tunisia today in the opening game of the tournament for both clubs.
About 80 English fans were arrested in running street battles through the Old Port that continued into Sunday night, fuelled by alcohol and rage against pro-Tunisian fans who exchanged insults with them.
Police with helmets and shields charged back with tear gas to disperse the chanting mobs that showered them with bottles and beer cans. It was the wild scene of hooliganism the French had hoped to prevent during the five-week World Cup that began only last Wednesday.
Diners in the Old Port, a trendy bar-restaurant district, cowered inside eateries, watching the clashes that left behind trashed cars, broken glass and scattered cafe chairs. Three bars were ransacked.
Later Sunday night, violence scattered into surrounding streets. The pro-Tunisian fans -- mostly Marseille area youths from working-class North African immigrant families -- attacked small groups of English fans or smashed shop windows.
One English fan was taken to hospital in serious condition after an attacker slashed an artery in his neck. At least two-dozen English fans suffered minor injuries and one police officer was injured in the knee.
While most streets were calm by midnight, a crowd of pro-Tunisian fans threw stones at British fans arriving at Saint-Charles train station.
In London, British Sports Minister Tony Banks called the troublemakers "drunken, brain-dead louts." Home Secretary Jack Straw said French police had full support of the British government.
Authorities cancelled a free evening concert in the Old Port, where many restaurants closed for the night.
Some British fans said they were embarrassed by the violence their government has long sought to combat.
"People who do that aren't the real fans," said Michael Barrett. "Wherever they go, there are problems.
"It's too bad for the image we give of England."
Rubbing his eyes from tear gas, George Fenwick insisted he wasn't violent.
"But since the afternoon, the Tunisians were provoking us, insulting us and making obscene gestures," he said. "Some young English fell into the trap and couldn't control themselves."
French television also showed English fans burning a Tunisian flag, angering mostly French-born Tunisians from the Marseille area.
"One of them threatened us with a knife," said Majhid Bouzbhi. "I'm worried about (today's) match."
English fans pelted police overnight after a motorist who tried to force through a crowd struck and slightly injured one of the fans.
Of four English fans arrested in that clash, a 20-year-old Liverpool railroad employee remained in custody to face charges in court today for allegedly attacking police.
On Sunday, dozens of officers patrolled the port and down the Canebiere, the city's main avenue, where sun-drenched cafes brimmed with flag-waving English fans who chanted, drank and talked to the locals throughout the day. Beaches were filled with tourists, locals and topless sunbathers.
About 10,000 English fans were expected at today's match, but about 2,000 others were expected in town to look for tickets on the black market, where prices were reportedly running as high as $330 US each.
Authorities planned to deploy almost 2,000 officers, including about 100 elite CRS national police. Since the beginning of the World Cup last Wednesday, submachine gun-toting troops on anti-terrorist duty have also patrolled public areas.

Fidelis Andria - Genoa – 11/04/1998

Source : mail