Season 05/06 - July

Liverpool fan jailed in Bulgaria - 26/07/2005

Source : BBC NEWS

A Liverpool football fan has been jailed for 15 years for the attempted murder of a Bulgarian barman, despite another man admitting responsibility.

Michael Shields, 18, from Wavertree, was accused of attacking the barman by throwing a brick at his head.
Martin Georgiev, 25, suffered a fractured skull and may have brain damage, the Bulgarian court was told.
On Saturday Graham Sankey, 20, an electrician from Anfield, Liverpool, said he carried out the attack.
He made his statement in the UK through his solicitor David Kirwan.
Sankey was said to be "in despair" that his confession did not prevent Shields' conviction.
Mr Kirwan said: "Graham believed the case against Michael would either be thrown or adjourned after he came forward to make his confession.
"But, to his total despair, the judge decided to continue trying Michael."

'Quiet as a mouse'

Shields had been holidaying in the Black Sea resort of Varna after watching his team beat AC Milan in the Champions League Final in Istanbul in May.
His uncle, Joey Graney, who was in court when the sentence was passed, said: "Michael was sobbing.
"He's an 18-year-old lad, quiet as a mouse, on his own, going back to a Bulgarian jail. What's he going to do?
"As far as the Bulgarians were concerned, a local lad had been attacked and they wanted their scapegoat.
"They did not care that Graham Sankey has confessed to carrying out the attack. They just tossed that aside."
Shields father Michael said: "Shocking news. It's just disbelief.
"We thought with this statement going to Bulgaria admitting this crime, Michael would be on the first plane home today."
He added: "We are going to do everything in our power to clear Michael's name."

'Best hope'

Another Liverpool fan, 19-year-old Anthony Wilson, was cleared of hooliganism but convicted of possession of cannabis.
He was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment with the sentence suspended, allowing him to return home.
Stephen Jakobi, of pressure group Fair Trials Abroad, said Shields' best hope was for the British courts to prosecute Mr Sankey.
He said: "Graham Sankey made a confession and said he was prepared to stand trial only in Britain, not in Bulgaria.
"If he is convicted, perhaps that would persuade the Bulgarian courts that they have the wrong man.
"The evidence of Graham Sankey's confession as it stood had no weight whatsoever. In fairness, it would not have had much weight with a British judge either."

'Verdict travesty'

Liverpool Riverside MP Louise Ellman, who has backed the Shields' family campaign, said it was a travesty of justice.
"Graham Sankey has admitted he was guilty of the crime that Michael Shields is now convicted of, but he did so in a way that was inadmissible to the Bulgarian court," added Mrs Ellman, who said she would be talking to his defence team.
She said she would be talking to the UK Government and Foreign Office.
A Foreign Office spokesman said it could not comment on the verdict but said it would continue offering consular help to Michael Shields.
Graham Sankey's solicitor David Kirwan said his client was appalled by the verdict.
Mr Kirwan said: "I have this morning contacted Michael's solicitors asking them to provide me with the prosecution's evidence and witness statements which I need to review as a matter of urgency."
He added that the case had raised many concerns.
"Given this background, what hope is there that Graham Sankey would receive a fair trial if he were ever to go before a court in Bulgaria?"

Dynamo Moscow - FC Zenit St.Petersburg - 17/07/2005

Source : ANSA

Fights errupted between fans, 14 were injured and 46 were arrested.

TORINO Demonstration - 15/07/2005

Source : ANSA

GENOA - Demonstration - 27/07/2005

Source : DATASPORT

Russia: fair fight - 30/07/2005

Source: bandyhools.com

Agreement meeting of FC Dynamo Vologda (russian 3rd division - zone West) and Stroitel Syktyvkar (bandy club) hooligans (43 x 45). Total win of bandy hools.

Shrewsbury Town - AFC Telford United - 29/07/2005

Source : BBC News

Fans held over football clashes
Extra police had to be called in to deal with about 50 rival football fans who clashed after a match between Shrewsbury Town and AFC Telford United.

Nine people were arrested following the evening game at Gay Meadow on Friday. Police said violent outbreaks carried on through the night.

Bottles were thrown in a brawl outside the ground and one man was taken to hospital with a cut to the face.

The Shrews won the game 4-1 to lift the Shropshire Senior Cup.

Górnik Łęczna - Legia Warszawa - 30/07/2005

Source : LEGIA website

BFC Berlin - Lokomotiv Leipzig - 23/0705

Source: BFC Berlin websites

Other photos, see 'Pics and Stories' part

Zenit Chelyabinsk - Dynamo Kirov - 22/07/2005

Fight between guest supporters and locals and visit of Perm city youth (under 20 y.o.) (FC Amkar Perm - russian premier-league).

Scene #1 ~30 local lads attack ~15 guests from Kirov, guests tried to fight but began "eat the sand" very fast.

Scene #2 ~40 guests from Perm attacked ~20 locals in the park near the stadium, locals prefered to run except 3 lads (respect for them)



Scene #3 Amkar Perm youth vs Zenit Chelyabinsk hools (~40x~40) after the match in the "Aloye Polye" park zone. Total win of guests from Perm city. Some problems with police, but nobody was arrested from the both sides.



Zenit Chelyabinsk hools

FC Nitra - Petržalka - 23/07/2005

Source : Ultras Nitra website

FC Vaduz - FC Sion - 31/07/2005

Source : SionSupporters website

CSKA SOFIA - LEVSKI SOFIA - 31/07/2005

Source : SOFIAWEST website

China sees basketball brawl as "night of shame" - 30/07/2005

Source: Reuters

A basketball game between China and visiting Puerto Rico deteriorated into a mass brawl that state media denounced as a "night of shame", saying it set a bad example for the 2008 Olympic hosts.

The fighting erupted at Beijing Capital Gymnasium on Friday night after two Chinese players charged off the bench to fight Puerto Rican players in the dying moments of a game in which China was leading comfortably.

The bad feeling spilled into the stands where 3,000 home fans hurled insults and missiles, the China Daily reported on Saturday. Officials abandoned the game as the visitors fled to the locker room, one shielding his head with a plastic chair.

Chinese players Li Nan and Mo Ke had reacted after seeing teammate Yi Jianlian fouled hard by Puerto Rican centre Manuel Narvaez, the newspaper said.

"Fists, plastic cups, water bottles and even a fan's shoe went flying during the fracas with China's Yi Jianlian, Tang Zhengdong, Mo Ke and Li Nan right in the middle of it," the official China Daily reported on Saturday.

China's basketball association deplored the violence as setting a poor example just three years before Beijing hosts the summer Olympics and said it would adopt measures to prevent such violence from recurring.

"Such behaviour is very disgusting and leaves an extremely bad impression," the China Sports Daily quoted association spokesman Li Jinsheng as saying.

NBA superstar Yao Ming, out with a toe injury, watched from the sidelines as the melee erupted but took no part.

"The Chinese basketball team should learn a lesson from this incident," Yao was quoted as saying by www.sports.sohu.com.

Victory in the Stankovic Cup game, abandoned with China ahead 91-80, was later awarded to the hosts. A basketball association official said China should apologise to fans.

State media railed about the team's behaviour.

In a story headlined "China suffers night of shame", China Daily said the brawl "badly hurt the growing reputation of Chinese basketball".

"China and Puerto Rico stage 'free for all'," said the Guangzhou Daily.

It said they had turned the Capital Gymnasium, a 2008 Olympic venue, into "the Palace of Auburn Hills arena", where Detroit players and fans brawled near the end of a game against the Indiana Pacers in November 2004.

Three thousand fans hurled abuse along with drinks, plastic bottles, yoghurt and popcorn at the Puerto Rican team as it headed off-court.

"This is the ugliest scene I have ever experienced in my life," 31-year-old fan Wang Kai was quoted as saying.

"The Puerto Rico players have travelled more than 30 hours to come to China and they are our guests. As the host team, how can we treat them with such disdain?"

It was not the first instance of violence for Chinese basketball.In Shanghai in July 2001, China and Lebanon clashed just 10 days after Beijing won the right to host the Olympics.

Both benches emptied after the final buzzer of a physical game, Chinese fans threw water bottles and other objects and several Lebanese players were bloodied before police broke it up.

In other sports, overzealous Chinese supporters have frequently embarrassed the authorities. Soccer in particular has seen a number of violent incidents.

Fans rioted in Beijing in 1985 after the national soccer team lost a World Cup qualifier against tiny Hong Kong, missing out on the 1986 finals in Mexico.

In August 2004, angry fans went on a rampage in the capital after the national team lost the Asian Cup final to Japan.

Middlesbrough: Two-year match ban for football fan - 29/07/2005

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

Supporter seen fighting at Middlesbrough match in Bratislava
A football fan was banned from matches for two years by Bedford Magistrates on Thursday, July 28.

Lawrence Newton, 42, of Merlin Gardens, Brickhill, did not contest the banning order, which was brought by Cleveland Police after a fight at a UEFA Cup tie in Slovakia on September 13 last year.

Newton, who was supporting Middlesbrough FC, was caught on police camera fighting against fans of FC Banik Ostrava.

Det Sgt Fawcett, appearing for the police, was at the game.

He told the court the experience was like "going back 20 years" to the heyday of football violence.

The court saw a video of violence which Newton was involved in, and photographs taken from that footage.

DS Fawcett commentated on Newton punching a rival fan, surging towards Slovakian supporters and receiving a cut to his left eye.

DS Fawcett said: "It was one of the most frightening experiences I have witnessed.
"The atmosphere in the ground was changed totally. At one point I thought the whole crowd was going to be spread into violence."

DS Fawcett said that one Middlesbrough fan had to be given medical attention as he was so scared that he thought he was having a heart attack.

He added: "Years and years ago you used to have things like this.

"I liked to think it was a thing of the past. Unfortunately, last year it wasn't."

Chairman of the bench Mr Ray Kahn was told the fighting took place before the match had kicked off and the players had gone onto the pitch.

He asked: "So it is nothing to do with anything that happened on the pitch?"

Newton apologised to the court and the police. He said: "I would just like to say I regret the incident.

"I apologise to the magistrates and the police officers involved."

Poland: Lechia Gdansk - Jagiellonia Bialystok - 30/07/2005

Source: Jagiellonia website

Jagiellonia tried to steal Lechia baner ''Chuligani Wolnego Miasta'', but few Lechia lads on the pitch stopped them. After that, Jaga destroyed gates, Lechia fastly get to them, and made a contact. Short fight, and OB arrived.

Fenerbhaçce - Everton FC - friendly game - 30/07/2005

Source : Turkish press

In their pre-season friendly, Fenerbahçe welcomed English side Everton to the Atatürk Olympic Stadium and won the match 5-0. A fan by the name of Yusuf Behar, who took his place in the stands, was also shot in the leg, and it is not known where the shot came from.