Season 05/06 - March

England: Fans invade pitch in anger over player sale - 08/03/2006
Source: http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk

ANGRY football fans stormed the pitch and set off flares at Crawley Town's game on Saturday after bosses announced the entire team was up for sale.

Around 20 fans invaded the pitch at the start of Saturday's home game at Broadfield Stadium.

And at half-time police had to intervene after chairman Chas Majeed confronted one of the fans in the club bar, Redz.

Mr Majeed, who runs SA Leisure and SA Retail with his brother Azwar, played down the pitch invasion and said: "It was only a minority of fans."

Speaking about the half-time confrontation, he said: "I was told fans were trashing the bar. I went in and some were mouthing off. I went up to one of them and he asked me to come outside because he had something to show me.

"I thought he meant a knife - he took his jacket off and pointed to his Crawley Town tattoo."


He added: "I am a Crawley supporter. My interests are the same as theirs and I will take Crawley up to a higher division."


After the game supporters continued to demonstrate as Mr Majeed left the ground.


Jim Read, district commander of Crawley Police, said: "It was all handled by stewards at the club.


"We liaise closely with the club and will look at whether there are any increased risks."


The Majeed brothers own a number of clubs, shops, properties and restaurants in Sussex including Crawley-based Ja Ja Bar and Cubana restaurant.


This week the brothers announced a £500,000 profit from their businesses.


They paid £560,000 for the Crawley Town last year.


But low attendance and poor performance - the team are second to bottom in the Conference - has resulted in a mystery investor pulling funds.


The Majeeds said they are paying 95 per cent of the club's costs out of their own pockets.


Ex-manager Francis Vines and three other ex-employees are taking the Majeeds to an employment tribunal over breach of contract after being sacked last year.


Ex-Chelsea player John Hollins was bought in as manager and the team went full-time.


On Monday about 200 supporters attended a meeting during which Mr Majeed sought to reassure the fans that the club would not be going into receivership.


He said: "The restructuring at the football club is to ensure that we can move forward and get ourselves out of the current position which we find ourselves in. We will definitely not go into administration, that is why we are taking these steps now.


"The fans who ran onto the pitch will not be kicked out. While they shouldn't have done it, we are all passionate about Crawley Town FC and we are all frustrated by our current position."


Speaking after the meeting Crawley Town Supporters' Club chairman, Kevin Giles, said: "It went very well. I think there will always be a group of fans who don't believe what he is doing is for the good of the club. At the end of the day the most important thing is the club."


Reds lost Saturday's game against Acrington Stanley 1-0.

39 charged after Blues - Stoke game - 21/03/2006

Source: The Birmingham Post

A total of 39 people have been charged in connection with racist chanting and violent disorder following the FA Cup clash between Stoke City and Birmingham City last month.

The first suspects were detained on Thursday as part of a planned operation by Staffordshire Police.

They were all given police bail and ordered to appear before magistrates in Stoke-on-Trent in April and May.

Thirty-eight men and one woman were arrested after the force published photo-graphs of people it wanted to speak to in connection with events inside and outside Stoke's Britannia Stadium on February 19.

Images were captured during and after the fifth round match and analysed by the Football Intelligence Unit.

The suspects range in age from 14 to 56 and are charged with various crimes including affray, violent disorder, racist chanting, assault and offences under public order legislation.

More than 20 officers were involved in the arrest and questioning of the suspects, who were detained in.

Birmingham and North Staffordshire between Thursday and yesterday. Seven of the suspects are aged under 18.

Det Sgt Steve Parker said: "This has been the largest football disorder inquiry in Staffordshire for many years.

"The disorder in February was a set back to the fantastic work achieved by working closely with fans and the football clubs in not only reducing the incidents of dis-order connected with football but in significantly reducing the number of matches requiring police attendance.

"Disorder like that witnessed in and around the stadium a month ago has no place in our community or our football stadiums."

The Independent Police Complaints Commission announced on Friday that it would be investigating the way Staffordshire Police had handled the disorder after it received 11 formal complaints from members of the public.

The "managed investigation" would investigate the conduct of officers and the tactics used to quell the disorder.

FA Cup hooligans held in swoop - 20/03/2006

Source: Birmingham Mail

A WOMAN and 38 men have been charged in connection with racist chanting and violent disorder following an FA Cup clash between Stoke City and Blues, police said today.

The first suspects were detained on Thursday as part of a planned operation by Staffordshire Police. They were all given police bail and ordered to appear before magistrates in Stoke-on-Trent in April and May.

The 39 suspects were arrested after the force published photographs of people it wanted to speak to in connection with events inside and outside Stoke's Britannia Stadium on February 19.

Images were captured during and after the fifth round match and analysed by the Football Intelligence Unit.

The suspects range in age from 14 to 56 and are charged with various crimes including affray, violent disorder, racist chanting, assault and offences under public order legislation.

More than 20 officers were involved in the arrest and questioning of the suspects, who were detained in Birmingham and North Staffordshire. Seven of the suspects are aged under 18.

Det Sgt Steve Parker said: "This has been the largest football disorder inquiry in Staffordshire for many years.

"The disorder in February was a setback to the fantastic work achieved by working closely with fans and the football clubs in not only reducing the incidents of disorder connected with football but in significantly reducing the number of matches requiring police attendance.

"Disorder like that witnessed in and around the stadium a month ago has no place in our community or our football stadiums."

Staffordshire Police said further arrests could be expected.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission announced on Friday that it would be investigating the way Staffordshire Police had handled the disorder after it received 11 formal complaints from the public. Conduct of officers and the tactics used to quell disorder will be examined.

11 held in Britannia Stadium troublemakers crackdown - 17/03/2006

Source: The Birmingham Post

Detectives hunting troublemakers who sparked violence during last month's FA Cup clash between Birmingham City and Stoke City arrested 11 men yesterday.

Staffordshire Police said the arrests marked the start of an operation in which more than 40 suspects would be questioned in connection with the racist chanting inside Stoke's Britannia Stadium and disorder outside the ground on February 19.

The force published photo-graphs of 17 men they wanted to speak to after video recordings of fans captured during and after the FA Cup fifth round match were reviewed by the Football Intelligence Unit.

Detective Sergeant Steve Parker, who is leading the investigation, said yesterday's arrests were made across Stoke-on-Trent and North Staffordshire and that a large number of further suspects had made plans to attend prearranged interviews with investigators.

Det Sgt Parker said: "This has been the largest football disorder inquiry in Staffordshire for many years, and the small investigative team has worked tirelessly to prepare over 40 packages of evidence for the interview teams.

"These arrests are just the start of this stage of the investigation and we have made arrangements with a number of people to present themselves to police at prearranged times over the next few days.

"Staffordshire Police, working with Stoke City FC, has made great strides in driving those who involve themselves in disorder away from the club.

"The events in February were a setback which makes us even more determined to continue this work and to ensure the true supporters have a safe atmosphere in which to support their club."

England: Club blames police for football violence - 14/03/2006

Source: Birmingham Mail



FOOTBALL club bosses today launched an unprecedented attack on West Midlands police officers blaming them for fuelling trouble at a Midland match.

Cardiff City top brass accused them of "disproportionate response" and "indiscriminate targeting" after trouble flared during their clash with Wolves at Molineux.

But the leader of the region's rank-and-file bobbies hit back saying the south Wales club should be docked points for failing to deal with its troublemaking element.

West Midlands Police Federation chairman Paul Tonks added: "The football authorities should look at the behaviour of the fans and the lack of action by the club in rooting out individuals intent on nothing but violence.

"I have spoken to officers involved on Saturday and there is no doubt this was the worst outbreak of football violence for many years. The blame lies not with the police but with Cardiff City."

The start of the second half had to be delayed by 15 minutes when serious trouble broke out between away fans and the police in the ground in a row over alcohol sales.

Trouble later exploded after the final whistle as the Cardiff supporters - whose infamous hooligan element is called the Soul Crew - started to make their way home and a total of 17 fans arrested.

Two police officers were seriously injured, one suffered a suspected broken jaw and the other a broken nose as they battled to restore calm.

Senior officers today were quick to defend their tactics.

But in a statement, Cardiff City FC said they had received complaints about the "actions of many individual officers and believe that many were not justifiable, proportionate, legal, accountable or necessary".

The club said the police action "left many innocent fans terrified, disillusioned and beaten by tactics, of a totally confrontational and aggressive nature".

Supt Keith Baldwin, from Bilston Street station, said: "Police were faced with extreme levels of disorder which were contained only by the deployment of officers which was necessary and proportionate in the circumstances.

"Only the professionalism of officers deployed into very challenging incidents prevented serious harm being caused to innocent members of the public."

Crawley Town: Fans invade pitch in anger over player sale - 08/03/2006

Source: http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk

ANGRY football fans stormed the pitch and set off flares at Crawley Town's game on Saturday after bosses announced the entire team was up for sale.

Around 20 fans invaded the pitch at the start of Saturday's home game at Broadfield Stadium.

And at half-time police had to intervene after chairman Chas Majeed confronted one of the fans in the club bar, Redz.

Mr Majeed, who runs SA Leisure and SA Retail with his brother Azwar, played down the pitch invasion and said: "It was only a minority of fans."

Speaking about the half-time confrontation, he said: "I was told fans were trashing the bar. I went in and some were mouthing off. I went up to one of them and he asked me to come outside because he had something to show me.

Three arrested over murder of Uruguayan soccer fan - 22/03/2006

Source: Reuters

Three men have been arrested in connection with the murder of a fan of first division club Cerro following a match 10 days ago, a judge said on Tuesday.

Judge Julio Olivera Negrin said the three men, who are being held in custody, were suspected of being accomplices in the incident.

He told reporters that police were still searching for the main culprits.

The Uruguayan championship has been indefinitely suspended following the attack outside the Centenario stadium, where Cerro were playing Penarol, on March 11.

Hector da Cunha, 35, died in hospital after being attacked by a gang of around 15 Penarol supporters while he was waiting at a bus stop with his wife and child.

Police said the Penarol supporters made off with his Cerro hat as a trophy.

In a separate incident, a 17-year-old Penarol supporter was stabbed by Cerro fans.

Penarol have since been deducted 12 points and Cerro three.

The government and the football authorities have both called on each other to do more to curb soccer violence.

City soccer hooligans sentenced - 21/03/2006

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

Twenty-four men have been sentenced for violence across Manchester city centre after England played Wales in a World Cup qualifying game.



The majority were given jail terms ranging from four to 18 months, and all received football banning orders.

The sentencing is the culmination of Greater Manchester Police's Operation Lucas, an investigation into the trouble in October 2004.

Violence erupted in four areas, including the main shopping street.

Fighting started in the early afternoon of the match day, 9 October, on Deansgate.

A second fight broke out about an hour later among fans who were watching the game in the Mitre bar at Cathedral Gates. It spilled outside and was caught on CCTV.


Later, about 24 men were involved in a fight at Oldham Street, near the Dry Bar.

Several of the men ran off and met with other groups on Market Street. Greater Manchester Police said shoppers were forced to run away as they were attacking men "indiscriminately".

Operation Lucas was set up to examine the CCTV footage and arrests were made by forces across the country including Staffordshire, Lancashire, West Yorkshire, West Midlands, Humberside, Cheshire, Wiltshire and Nottinghamshire.

At Manchester Crown Court on Monday and Tuesday, 24 men were sentenced for the Mitre bar and Market Street violence. They were from Staffordshire, the West Midlands, Nottingham, Cheshire, Hampshire and Humberside.

The men's sentences included fines, community rehabilitation orders, and prison terms ranging from four to 18 months long.

All the men were given football banning orders, ranging from three years to ten years long.

Several other men were sentenced in February for the incident outside the Dry Bar.

Six others are due to be sentenced next week for violence in the Deansgate area.

Greater Manchester Police's ACC Stephen Thomas said: "There are only a small number of individuals who are responsible for spoiling the reputation of our English football fans and by taking action against them we hope to reassure the vast majority of real football supporters that it is safe to attend matches.

"This operation shows that we will continue to pursue individuals who are not arrested on the day the offence was committed.

"We now have technology that allows us to review CCTV after the event and use our own intelligence officers, as well as those from other forces to identify further offenders."

In total 41 men have pleaded guilty to offences relating to the violence.

On the day of the match, 33 people were arrested and 14 were subsequently charged with violent disorder and affray, but were not part of Operation Lucas.