Season 73/74

Liverpool - Newcastle - FA Cup final - 04/05/1974

Source : Press

There were 50 arrests outside the ground.

Everton FC - Millwall FC - Cup - ??/11/1973

Source: forum

Loads of trouble with 8 stabbed.

Millwall FC - Astona Villa - ??/08/1973

Source: Evening Mail

Villa's Football Special was attacked outside New Cross gate Station and one Villa fan had Acid thrown On Him, The police advised that they could not guarantee Villa fans safety, and the train turned around and arrived back in Birmingham at 4pm before the game in London had ended.

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Source: forum

The reason this was so mental was cos wall had got in villas holt end the season b4 and villa wanted revenge 4 it. there hadalso been a savage encounter at fulham the year b4 when one of villas top boys got stabbed up on the tube and a well known wall face got done 4 it. anyways villas train turned up early like you said and walls cbl crew were drinking opposite. when they come out wall steamed straight into them. a couple of villa got glassed (never heard about an acid attack sounds like a porky) and one got hit with an iron bar. wall chased em back onto the train and started dragging em out and fucking em up on the platform. no villa lads got to the old den but some of the wall boys got on the pitch threatening the players and the villa keeper got hit on his bonce with a rock. the tunnels around the back of cbl had been painted in bloodcurrdling grafiti for that one: VILLA YOU TURN UP AND YOUR NEVER GET OUT ALIVEetc etc All in all, a good day's work.

Newcastle United - Nottingham Forest - Cup - 09/03/1974

Source: forum

Loads of Forest in the Gallowgate End, Lazers End came across the Pitch.
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Source: http://www.toonarama.co.uk

When Lyall drove the penalty home some of the Forest fans celebrated on the pitch in front of the the Gallowgate.

That was one insult too many for about 500 Leazes Enders who - led by a middle aged, folically challenged personage - swarmed onto the pitch and ran towards the Forest supporters.

"Here they come" said ITV commentator Brian Moore; "this is what they have been waiting to do"

The players initially stood and watched in disbelief and it was alleged that two Forest players - Dave Serella and Martin O'Neill (perhaps that's why!) - were assaulted.

Kew signalled for the players to leave the field and both sets of players raced off the pitch through the onrushing crowd.

The club and the police had been prepared for trouble with 70 officers inside the ground and 70 more outside with dogs and horses. As a result they reacted quickly and it took a relatively short 8 minutes for them to regain control of the situation and clear the pitch.

Once order had been restored, the referee asked both sets of officials if they wanted to carry on with the match and they both concurred. Forest 3-1 up and playing against 10 men clearly fancied their chances.

The Reaction

In the immediate aftermath of the match Forest appeared to accept the result with their chairman allegedly wishing Newcastle the best of luck in the rest of the competion.

Forest manager Allan Brown was lass magnanimous; "the crowd and the referee undoubtedly won the game for Newcastle When we were taken off we were playing brilliant stuff. Newcastle were finished. But after the hold up, with the crowd baying all the time, the referee gave everything to Newcastle".

United Chairmen Lord Westwood did not hold back either: "I was disgusted with the behaviour of a section of the fans". He went on to say that the club had done "all that it could" by ensuring there was a large police presence.

John Tudor: "Really, I still can't quite believe it all happened. That second half is still a combination of a dream and a nightmare"

The headline on the front page of the Sunday Sun was "INCREDIBLE"; the subtitle was DISGUSTING - THE ONLY VERDICT

Not surprisingly the national press also came out firmly against United, with many papers calling for the tie to be awarded to Forest. Typical of the media reaction was the comment made by Goal editor Alan Hughes. "They have ensured that if Newcastle do win the cup this season they will never get the credit they deserve"

Many critics went further suggesting that the tie should be awarded to Forest.

Twenty four hours later Forest decided to appeal against the result and a four man FA Cup Committee met on the following Thursday.
The Decision

At the hearing referee Kew stated that he thought the result should stand but the FA were worried that it would send out the wrong message and would encourage similur incursions in the future.

Therefore they ordered that the match should be replayed at a neutral venue and that Newcastle should be forced to pay all their games in 1975 FA Cup away from home.

Chairman Lord Westwood said he thought it was a "fair decision", but the players who had performed so heroically in their comeback were not so happy; indeed it was alleged that some of them were in tears.

Supermac was the most outspoken when appearing on a radio show. "My reaction is one of total disgust, but not surprise. I have expected a ridiculous solution and they certainly have come up with one". He was promptly charged with bringing the game into disrepute.

The fans were equally incensed claiming that the media had exaggerated what had happened and that Forest had agreed to play on.

Forest player George Lyall gave a candid interview some days later in which he said "for the good of the game, Newcastle had to be punished - so hooligans all over the country wouldn't be given the go-ahead to do it....but deep down Ifeel we didn't deserve to go through. We just weren't professional about it .... when we came back we were a shambles".
A riot?

23 fans required hospital treatment (including 2 people with fractured skulls) and 103 received first aid treatment at the ground including youngsters who were crushed against the barriers and fainted and others who were knocked to the ground and trampled on.

A number of police received minor injuries and in all 39 people were charged with violent conduct and another 40 were ejected from the ground.







Source : Wikipedia

The first Newcastle United–Nottingham Forest game was won 4–3 by Newcastle. However, early in the second half Nottingham Forest went 3–1 up from a penalty awarded by the referee,Gordon Kew. In awarding the penalty, a Newcastle player was sent off. The Newcastle United fans in the Leazes End of the ground (now the Sir John Hall stand) were renowned for their volatility, and invaded the pitch. Two Nottingham Forest players were injured in the debacle, but the referee waited until all players were recovered and received the permission of both managers to continue the tie before restarting it. Newcastle United managed to come back and win in spite of the two-goal and one-player deficit. 23 people were taken to hospital as a result of the pitch invasion, of whom two had fractured skulls. 103 people received treatment at the ground and 39 were arrested.

Following the riot, a written protest was sent from Nottingham Forest to the FA on the 11 March. In response, the secretary of the FA, Ted Croker, announced that a special four-man subcommittee of the Challenge Cup Committee who oversee the FA Cup competition were to investigate the incident with an eye to disqualifying Newcastle United, stating, "Newcastle could be disqualified. We do not have the power to order a replay as the game was completed." On the 14 March the subcommittee ruled that, in spite of Mr. Croker's comments, the match was to be replayed, at a neutral venue on Monday 18 March. If that match was drawn then extra time would be played and, if needed, a second match also at a neutral venue would be played the following Thursday. This decision was unprecedented at the time and the reaction was mixed, with Newcastle defender Frank Clark suggesting that Newcastle's comeback from two goals down and with a player sent off should have allowed them to go through outright. The Nottingham Forest captain stated, "we would have won it fair and square but for the trouble."

Manchester United - Liverpool FC - 73/74

Source: forum

Hundreds of Liverpool were locked out, and the Stretford End Came across the pitch to Blitz those left in the Scoreboard End

Liverpool FC - Manchester United - 73/74

Source: forum

The Anny Road Enders attacked United and hundreds pour across the pitch from the Kop.

England: North Shields - Blyth Spartans - Amateur Cup - 73/74

Source: forum

Very good day Blyth brought a very tidy firm and we
were on the back foot to start with, got our act together
ended up pretty even, fighting inside and outside both
sides had people taken to hospital ended up with mass
brawl outside casualty.

Bristol Rovers - Brighton & Hove Albion - 27/04/1974

Source: http://www.flickr.com


Bristol Rovers fans invade the Eastville turf following the last game of the 73/74 season, Bruce Bannister scoring in a 1-1 draw v Brighton & Hove Albion (Att 19,137). Rovers had just clinched promotion to the 'old' second division

Manchester United - Glasgow Rangers - Friendly game - 73/74

Source: forum - Man U view

The crowd was 22,000 and split roughly 50-50. It was all Rangers fans outside the Scoreboard End. Safely inside the Stretford End, I remember seeing a fan wearing a Rangers scarf walking down to the front. I thought he was a United fan wearing the scarf of his second team. He climbed over the front, gave a V sign and was chased to the Scoreboard End by six reds. They were chased back by twenty Rangers fans and fifty Reds sent them back. By then, the police had managed to separate the groups.

NAC Breda - Feyenoord Rotterdam - 12/05/1974

Source : Press

A Feyenoord fan was arrested.

Bolton Wanderers – Blackpool FC – 26/12/1973

Source: Wikipeda

Blackpool fans had invaded the Home End at Boltons Burnden Park when the two teams met when they smashed down a gate and stormed into the ground. Speculation was that the stabbing was as a result of that and the stabbing of a Bolton fan by a Blackpool fan in 1970 at Bolton's home ground, Burnden Park.

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Source :  http://z11.invisionfree.com/MUCKERS  BFC view

We arrived late by special train (about 600 fans) and at 10 to 3 there was one turnstile open so 20 or so kicked a gate down and about 300 fans poured in free of charge onto the Bolton home end.

The second half consisted of fist fights and hooliganism on a grand scale, particularly as the fog meant you couldn't see the halfway line and if you tried to watch the match you risked getting caught by a stray fist or boot.

The 30 of us left at the end got a police escort back to Bolton station followed by a baying mob of around 2000 Bolton fans.

Crystal Palace - Brighton & Hove Albion - 73/74

Source : http://www.cpfc.org CPFC view

We lost 0-1 and the crowd was an unbelievable 26,000. Atleast half of those were Palace.Their was a lot of trouble before, during and after the game, with a couple of well known Palace fans getting 6 months for an attack on a detective outside a pub before the game.

Manchester United - Manchester City - 27/04/1974

Source : http://www.mediastorehouse.com

Police try to prevent United fans invading the Old Trafford pitch after Denis Law's 82nd minute goal for City.
United fans invaded the pitch in the hope the game woul.

Feyenoord Rotterdam - Tottenham Hotspur - 29/05/1974

Source : Press

A tragic day for Tottenham on and off the field! They are beaten 2-0 at Rotterdam by Feyenoord in the UEFA Cup final, and their so-called 'fans' initiate a riot during the match. 70 of them are arrested and over 200 people hurt in the crush. Spurs chairman, Mr Sydney Wale, broadcasts an appeal before the kick-off, and at half-time Bill Nicholson speaks on the public address system: 'You hooligans are a disgrace to Tottenham Hotspur and a disgrace to England. This is a football game - not a war'.

Tottenham send a letter of apology to the Feyenoord Football Club and to the Rotterdam police, expressing their regret for the shameful behaviour of a section of their supporters.

Tottenham banned from playing two European games at White Hart Lane after fans riot in Uefa Cup final at Feyenoord.

Ajax Amsterdam - Stoke City - 02/10/1974

Source : Press

Ajax fans into the pitch.

Servette Genève - FC Zurich - 25/05/1974

Source: mail

Referee Dörflinger escaped the several hundred fanatics who entered the pitch thanks to the energetic protection of Servette player-coach Jürgen Sundermann and two Securitas guards. Ten minutes before the end, the referee had been pelted with stones, plastic and small bottles of alcohol in a corner. And after the final whistle, various firecrackers exploded.

FC Sion - Neuchâtel Xamax - Finale de Coupe - 30/04/1974

Source: presse

One Securitas man in hospital with a suspected broken rib, one seriously injured in the head by a glass bottle smuggled into the stadium, others with cuts, a Wankdor pitch soaked in beer and covered in plastic bottles. Securitas guards were beaten, pushed and spat on. The only place the crowd seemed to feel comfortable was behind the fences.