Season 02/03 - February

Burnley: Football thugs get Turf ban - 05/02/2003

Source: Lancashire Evening Telegraph

A NEW initiative which aims to crackdown on football hooliganism has netted its first victory.

Operation Fixture, a joint project between Pennine Police, Burnley Football Club and Burnley Magistrates, has convicted 18 "fans" who have now been banned for life from the Clarets' Turf Moor ground.

The prosecutions, convictions and bans are a direct result of Operation Fixture, launched in a bid to eliminate violence and racist behaviour from the terraces.

The 18 offenders were convicted for a number of offences at both home and away matches including affray, Public Order offences, drunk in or entering a sports ground and pitch encroachment.

Burnley Football Club's ground safety officer Alex Wood said: "The club will continue to take action against individuals who cause disturbances to the general public and ruin the enjoyment of Burnley supporters.

"These individuals are intent on destroying the good name of Burnley Football Club.

"The police in Burnley have recently employed a high profile campaign to deal with any kind of football related disturbances and this is further proof that it is working. The chairman and directors are striving to rid the club of anyone who causes disturbances either at Turf Moor or at away grounds.

"The club will continue to take action against any individuals who are found guilty of committing any form of football related violence or racism at home or away matches and will continue to employ its policy of awarding life bans to anyone found guilty."

The message from the club is simple: "Come to Turf Moor to support your team and enjoy the game."

The latest bans come just days after football hooligans threw missiles onto the pitch at Turf Moor during the Clarets game against Reading on Saturday.

Police said food, coins and a bottle were thrown at Reading's goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann while a brick was also thrown through one of the Lottery Office windows causing considerable damage.

The club is now appealing for any witnesses to come forward. The Football Association has already contacted officials in an effort to find out their observations on the alleged throwing of objects at Hahnemann.

Anyone with information can contact Alex Wood on 01282 700000

West Bromwich Albion - Bolton Wanderers - 08/02/2003

Source: Bolton Evening News

Wanderers fan injured in brawl
A WANDERERS supporter was taken to hospital with head injuries after football hooligans clashed following the Premiership game at West Bromwich Albion.

Police said that some of the hooligans were wielding snooker cues as they fought outside Albion's Hawthorns ground on Saturday.

The fan -- who has not been identified -- was taken to Sandwell General hospital, near Birmingham, where he received stitches to a minor head wound.

West Midlands Police said the man was injured as more than 30 fans fought in a car park used by both home and away supporters outside the Moat House hotel -- half a mile from the ground. Fighting also broke out between rival supporters outside the ground's Smethwick End as fans left at the end of the match.

The game ended in a 1-1 draw, with Bolton conceding a late Albion equaliser. There were no reports of violence inside the ground.

One West Bromwich Albion fan -- who travelled to the game from Worcester -- said the fighting away from the stadium looked to have been "pre-arranged".

He said: "There was a lot of shouting and then 20 or so Albion fans appeared at the top of an embankment, which leads from the motorway island into a car park. They started to kick at the fence and came running down towards the Bolton fans in the car park.

"All hell broke loose and it was pretty frightening. There were police everywhere."

Insp Howard Lewis-Jones, of West Midlands Police, said the injured man was a Bolton supporter, who did not co-operate with the police inquiry and refused to give details of how he was injured.

He added: "We found two snooker cues in the car park after the incident and officers were put on a state of high alert after the incident."

No arrests were made, and police inquiries into Saturday's incident are continuing today.

York City - Bury FC - 21/02/2003

Source: Lancashire Evening Telegraph

Fans arrested in post-match riot

From the Lancashire Evening Telegraph, first published Thursday 27th Feb 2003.

FOOTBALL hooligans have heaped more shame on the Shakers.

Four travelling Bury fans were arrested and charged with a number of public order offences after violence flared between rival supporters following the club's match at York City on Saturday.

Three home fans have also been charged and all those arrested will appear before York magistrates on Friday.

Bosses of the Gigg Lane outfit have been left reeling by the arrests and say they have again been let down by a minority of fans away from home.

The weekend clash comes a week after Bury FC launched a police-led manhunt for a small group of supporters who have been hurling racial and personal abuse at their players and their families during away games.

Saturday night's violence involved 30 to 40 supporters who clashed in a pub near York railway station. Fighting broke out and several missiles, including pool balls and bottles, were thrown.

One eyewitness said: "It was like the OK Corral. The police looked as though they were struggling to control it because there were so many people fighting."

Police chiefs in York have laid most of the blame for the violence on a section of home supporters. Only a week earlier, officers made 13 arrests before York's home game against Hartlepool.

Chief Superintendent John Lacy said: "If anybody thought that football hooliganism was declining, they need only look at York City in the last couple of matches, including against Bury, where 20 arrests have been made in streets outside the ground."

Bury FC spokesman Mr Gordon Sorfleet told the Bury Times: "Just when we are trying to get things on and off the field sorted, we then get a minority of so-called Bury fans who have heaped further shame on our club.

"We have been let down again and everyone here is disappointed."

If convicted, the Bury supporters could be given nationwide bans from football grounds by the courts, and Shakers chiefs have vowed to kick the offenders out of Gigg Lane.

Safety first as pubs shut for United match - 18/02/2003

Source: Bolton Evening News

MOST of Bolton's pubs will be closed on Saturday afternoon as Wanderers take on local rivals Manchester United.

Many bars will not open until after the kick off at noon -- and will then close between 2pm and 6pm in case violence breaks out after the derby.

Last month, licensees were advised to open an hour later than usual after officers gathered intelligence that hooligans from both sides were planning to meet at an undisclosed licensed premises to cause trouble.

They were also being urged to close until the early evening as police were concerned about thugs causing trouble after the police operation had been scaled down.

Letters were sent to all the licensees across the town from Chief Supt Don Brown of Bolton Police urging them to stay closed until after kick-off or only serve regular customers.

Licensees were warned that if violence does break out, they could be forced to close anyway to preserve the safety of the public.

Anyone who still refuses to shut could be prosecuted under section 179 of the Licensing Act 1964.

A meeting was held with police chiefs earlier this month at the Balmoral pub in Bradshawgate to discuss the plans. PC Greg Pickles from Bolton Police's licensing unit said the majority of landlords had heeded the warning.

He said: "The majority of pubs have agreed to stay closed until noon. Some are not going to open until early evening.

"We are delighted with the response to our request and all the licensees have been very supportive.

"They have been very responsible in their attitude towards the matter and it is in the interest of everyone that there is no trouble on the day."

Manager Helen Jury, from Red On The Square, will be open between noon and 2pm and then from 7pm. She said: "Everyone else is shutting so we are too. There are loads of windows in this pub - it would be like a red rag to a bull."

Antony Humphreys, who runs the Spinning Mule, added: "Most landlords agreed it was safer to close.

"Shutting for a couple of hours is better than the pub getting damaged and being closed on Saturday night.

"At the end of the day, our customers and staff come first."

Police are looking at using a similar policy in April when Wanderers play Manchester City at the Reebok Stadium.

Police act over pub `used by hooligans' - 27/02/2003

Source: Bolton Evening News

POLICE want the licence to be taken away from a landlord alleged to have ignored an order to close his pub.

Brian Price was ordered to shut the Hare and Hounds in Market Street, Stoneclough, to prevent football hooligans drinking there before the Manchester United game with Bolton Wanderers last Saturday.

Police tracked around 80 United fans from the pub to Kearsley railway station before 11am on Saturday and escorted them to the Reebok.

Many of them are believed to be the same hooligans who were later involved in a huge fight with about 100 Wanderers supporters at Trinity Street station, resulting in 12 arrests and damage to the station foyer.

After the brawl, many of the United fans involved are said to have returned to the Hare and Hounds and tried to get in again.

It is understood that an argument broke out when police told Mr Price not to allow them back in. This led to him being arrested, cautioned for being drunk and disorderly and served with an order to shut the pub for the rest of the day.

It is believed that after being released, Mr Price re-opened the pub in contravention of police instructions.

Supt Alan Green of Bolton Police said: "I'm not going to be able to comment on this matter or go into the details because we are going for a revocation of his license."

But yesterday Mr Price said he had not heard anything from the police about the move to revoke his licence.

He said: "I know nothing about that. They told me that everything was finished."

The landlord insisted that while troublemakers had attempted to enter the pub, the only people in there were families enjoying a quiet drink.

"I know the police have a job to do but I think they went overboard," he said.

Police chiefs had received intelligence before the game that rival gangs were planning to rendezvous at undisclosed premises and cause disorder.

Just one fan jailed after Pompey's shame - 22/02/2003

Source: http://www.portsmouth.co.uk

Riot police struggle to calm fighting fans at the Coventry match

TODAY just one man is behind bars after an investigation into the football violence that shamed Portsmouth FC.
A total of 26 Pompey fans were charged with public order offences after violence erupted before and during the club's September 2001 match at Coventry City.

Of those, 20 were convicted at Coventry Crown Court while a 15-year-old youth was convicted at Chichester Youth Court.

But just one guilty Pompey yob 22-year-old Adam Fairweather, from Hilsea, Portsmouth was jailed for his part in the mayhem.

Altogether 46 people were charged. Six Coventry fans were also jailed.

Most of the hooligans escaped with just community punishments, fines and bans from football grounds.

Detective Sergeant Ian Knowles, of West Midlands Police, who led the investigation into the violence, said: 'It is somewhat disappointing that the sentences handed out were so lenient.'

Pompey chairman Milan Mandaric said the convicted hooligans could be welcome back at Fratton Park.

Mr Mandaric said the fans would be given a second chance after they had served their banning orders from football grounds if they could prove to him the fighting was a one-off episode and out of character.

Three-year jail term for football hooligan - 28/02/2003

Source: http://www.rochdaleobserver.co.uk

A MANCHESTER City fan from Rochdale has been jailed for three years for his part in a fight between football supporters.

Twenty-year-old Jonathan Michael Dale, of Manchester Road, Castleton, was one of 13 men who were sentenced to a total of over 25 years
at Manchester Crown Court today, after pleading guilty to a variety of offences in relation to disorder following the Manchester City v
Stockport County match on Saturday 13 October 2001.

The disturbance occurred between Manchester City and Stockport County fans on the day of the match on Canal Street in Manchester city centre.

Two men, both Manchester City supporters, were arrested on the day and were sentenced last year. One was sentenced to 15 months detention in a young offenders institute, and the other was jailed for three months. Both received a six-year banning order from football matches.

Greater Manchester Police launched Operation Whip in an attempt to identify the main troublemakers from CCTV footage and stills of Canal Street on the day of the incident.

As a result of the operation, a further fourteen men, seven Manchester City supporters and seven Stockport County supporters, were arrested.

Of the fourteen, five have pleaded guilty to violent disorder, five have pleaded guilty to affray and three have pleaded guilty to public order offences. One man has been bound over.

Dale, along with four other men, pleaded guilty to violent disorder and each were sentenced to three years' imprisonment and received a 10-year banning order from football matches.

Speaking after sentencing, Detective Sergeant Steve Cross from Bootle Street CID said: "Today's results are testament to the hard work and
dedication of our officers in using high quality CCTV footage to track down the offenders and bring them to justice. The convictions highlight our continued and proactive approach to football disorder in the city centre.

"The sentences passed send a clear message that Greater Manchester Police will not tolerate disorder of any kind on our streets."