Season 07/08 - May

Football fans sought over attack - 01/05/2008

Source : BBC News

Two men were beaten unconscious by two other men who had been out celebrating with Premier League footballers in Bournemouth, police have said.

The incident took place following Portsmouth Football Club's FA Cup win against Manchester United on 8 March.

Police believe at 0420 BST the next day two fans punched and kicked two men unconscious near the Fresco takeaway on Old Christchurch Road.

Officers want to trace a man caught on CCTV who may have vital information.

A 27-year-old London man has been arrested in the case and released on bail.

Inquiries continuing

Both victims needed hospital treatment to cuts and bruises.

Det Con Adrian Turner, of Bournemouth CID, said: "The two suspects were celebrating in Bournemouth with a group of Portsmouth Premiership footballers.

"There is a strong possibility that the two suspects travelled south with the players from the Old Trafford football ground in Manchester.

"I've made enquiries with Portsmouth Football Club in an attempt to identify the unknown man but despite this I have yet to establish his identity - and my enquiries will continue until I know who he is.

"I'm now releasing pictures of a man that I'd like to speak with in connection with these serious assaults in the hope that anyone who recognises this man will contact me."

Portsmouth FC spokesman Gary Double said: "I can confirm we have been contacted by the police in relation to this matter and are assisting with their inquiry.

"All we can say is that it is not true that these people would have travelled down with the players on the coach."

Russia on alert for Man Utd and Chelsea fans - 02/05/2008

Source : Telegraph.co.uk

The minefield of Anglo-Russian relations into which Manchester United and Chelsea supporters will wade when they attend the Champions League final in Moscow on May 21 was yesterday summed up by the city's leading sports paper.

"What should we be doing now?" asked Sport Express. "Congratulating ourselves for having 42,000 Brits coming to town, or start regretting it?" Rarely have relationships between the countries been so convoluted.

The fans spilling on to Moscow's frenzied streets will find themselves on the front line of a dispute between the Kremlin and Whitehall. The two political power bases are barely on speaking terms following the murder of exiled secret services agent Alexander Litvinenko, poisoned by suspected Russian agents in London in 2006.

Russians in the street remain inclined to respect and like the British, not least because of the wartime alliance against Hitler's Nazis. But in the Kremlin there is a seething animosity - oil giants BP are under fire from the Russian government, who seemingly want them out of the country, British Ambassador Sir Tony Benton has been heckled by President Vladimir Putin's youth wing on official visits, and strategic bombers have been sent into British airspace.

There are genuine fears that extremist groups and Russia's own brand of hooligans - who fly the Union Flag as their emblem in supposed recognition of their English role models - could create ugly clashes with Manchester United and Chelsea fans coming for the final.

Each leading Russian club have their own firm of hardened 'Ultras', who carry knives and metal staves and regularly meet away from the main stadiums for formal fights that leave participants bloodied and sometimes dead.

If English fans do make the mistake of 'kicking off', the feared Omon riot police will be waiting for them, attack dogs and truncheons at the ready.

The Omon, it is fair to say, are not an average 'thin blue line' patrolling the nation's football stadiums on a Saturday afternoon. They exercise on nails and broken glass and are selected only after enduring five no-holds-barred fist fights.

Many are veterans of the war in Chechnya, their motto is 'we know no mercy and never ask for it', and have been placed on alert to brutally crush any hint of boisterous behaviour by English fans when they begin to mass in Moscow.

If English fans are arrested, they run the risk of being thrown into rat-infested Russian cells. Cells in Moscow's two prisons, Butyrka and Matrosskaya Tishina, are barely ventilated, and inmates risk contracting tuberculosis.

Equally frightening are Moscow's 'drink police', who round up drunks at night in mobile cells and take them to secure 'sobering houses', where they are stripped naked and chained to bare metal beds until they have sobered up.

‘Fight’ fans due in court - 02/05/2008

Source : Shropshire Star Newspaper

Fifteen suspected football hooligans will appear before magistrates this month charged with public order offences.

Thirteen of the men, who are in their late teens and 20s, are from the Shrewsbury area. They will appear at Walsall Magistrates Court on May 21.

They were arrested in dawn raids in January after fighting between Shrewsbury Town and Walsall fans at Wednesbury’s Tame Bridge Parkway station on November 10 last year.

The raids were carried out in Harlescott, Meole Brace, Bayston Hill and Myddle as part of the investigation.

Tunisia: Espérance - Club Africain - 01/05/2008

Source: mail (thx to the sender)

Jailed for part in football violence - 01/05/2008

Source : News Shopper

A BANK worker has been jailed for his part in attacking rival football supporters on a train.

Area bank manager Adam Henry, aged 29, who is believed to have been in charge of the HSBC branch in Sidcup High Street, pleaded guilty to violent disorder.

Henry, of Alfristan Close, Dartford, and Nicholas McGinty, aged 24, of Laurel Grove, Sydenham, attacked passengers in two carriages on a train from Sydenham on September 1 last year.

Southwark Crown Court heard Henry and McGinty were part of a group who boarded the train containing several Charlton Athletic supporters heading to a football match with Crystal Palace.

They then began random attacks on passengers on the train.

During the violence a 24-year-old Charlton fan had his nose broken and several other passengers were headbutted, punched and verbally abused.

advertisementAs well as Charlton fans, ordinary members of the public were on board, including women, children and the elderly.

The pair were jailed for two years each, and given six-year football banning orders.

Last month, eight men were jailed and given football banning orders for their part in the attacks.

Judge Stephen Robbins said the group gave "football a thoroughly bad name".

He said: "The message must go out violent disorder like this will result in a custodial sentence so it might act as a deterrent to others."

The ban keeps them from attending any football match in England and Wales, and stops them travelling on trains on any day when England or Crystal Palace are playing.

They are also kept from entering any pubs in the Croydon area when Crystal Palace are at home, and they must not enter within 2,000m of any ground where the Eagles are playing on a match day.

British Transport Police's Detective Inspector Keith Bennett said: "The behaviour displayed on the day in question and the violence ordinary members of the public were subjected to was utterly unacceptable."

HSBC declined to confirm Henry worked at its Sidcup branch.

A spokesman said: "A member of staff has been convicted of violent disorder following an incident at Sydenham railway station.

"The bank is taking this matter very seriously.

"It is being dealt with by our employee relations department.

"The appropriate action will be taken in due course."

Hooligans given football match bans - 02/05/2008

Source : Fenland Today

Ten football hooligans have been banned from attending matches by magistrates following disturbances at a Luton Town game.
Police launched an investigation and released CCTV images after disorder that followed Luton's game with Nottingham Forest in October last year.

The offenders, mainly from Luton and Dunstable, all pleaded guilty to public order offences and were given banning orders between three and five years at Luton Magistrates' Court.

Detective Constable Melissa Lambton, of Luton CID, said: "This was a self-styled football hooligan group who set out to establish their name.

"The banning orders will stop these people from attended regulated matches within England and Wales and when England is playing abroad they will have to surrender their passports.

"Bedfordshire Police has worked hard to ensure football is safe for everyone to attend and we shall continue to crackdown on those who enter into violence or disorder at matches."

Russia’s hooligans waiting for English fans in Moscow - 02/05/2008

Source : Footylatest

Man Utd and Chelsea fans are to be warned that they will be targets of some of Russia’s notorious hooligan element,

When England played Russia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers the fans were specifically targeted by the hooligans and it soon became apparent that it was not safe for the fans outside their hotels. The same can be expected again for the Champions League final.

The decision by Uefa to award the final to Moscow has always been seen as a fundamentally flawed choice, not only is it so far away from the rest of European cities, but their record with hooliganism and poor policing is widely acknowledged.

The fans of course were simply not considered by the Uefa committee that decided on holding the final in a place that is both expensive to reach and and inhospitable to the peaceful fan.

Uefa have made a habit of playing the final in far flung corners of Europe, Istanbul, Athens and now Moscow,

When you consider that the champions league is generally fought out between teams from just three or four nations all situated in western Europe it just underlines Uefa’s contempt for the fans.

Russian hooligans are a racist group that is a throwback to problems that affected England 20 years ago, they are skinheads full of hate to minorities. They regularly film their exploits and post it on the video-sharing website Youtube and any search of the words Russia hooligans will bring up a plethora of videos showing them in their element.

Money has dictated the site of the 2008 final and it will no doubt be the English fans that will pay the price for Uefa’s incompetence.

Roma : Reds released - 02/05/2008

Source : Manchester Online

FOUR Manchester United fans - jailed after they were arrested on the day of a Reds' match against Roma - have been freed.

Kyle Dillon, Michael Burk, Nicholas Lucas and Richard Wimmer were jailed in Italy in December.

The four men were alleged to have been caught up in violence involving Roma's infamous Ultras on the Duca d'Aosta bridge, near the Stadio Olympico.

And they were sentenced to serve up to two-years and six months, after an abbreviated trial procedure, which was conducted in Italian.

But families and friends of the supporters have continued to protest their innocence.

And earlier today the four men were freed after changing their plea to guilty in a court in Italy.

Worsley MP Barbara Keeley, who has been fighting for the release of constituent Michael Burk, has welcomed the court's decision.

She said: "I have campaigned on this issue since I found out all the problems with the representation and trial process of Michael Burk. I felt it was a wrongful conviction.

"I recently held a debate about the case at Westminster with the Europe Minister, Jim Murphy. The debate helped to publicise the fact that there had been many flaws up to and including the trial of the four Manchester United fans.

"Following this and all the publicity around the case, I am pleased that my constituent has now received a fair hearing and has won back his freedom.

"His family will be delighted to have him home.

"I would like to thank the Manchester Evening News for the excellent coverage given to this case.

"I am sure that MENs reporting was an important factor in turning this case around and bringing justice to the four Manchester United fans."

Michael Burk, 35, from Little Hulton, Salford, and Nicholas Lucas, 18, had been facing jail sentences of two years and five months.

Partially-sighted Kyle Dillon, 23, from Mottram, and Richard Wimmer, 39 , had been facing sentences of two years and six months.

FC Basel - FC Zürich - 02/05/2008

Sourcs : earthtimes.org

Sixteen people were hurt in violence during and after the FC Basel -FC Zurich game. Basel beat their opponents 4-0 at their home ground of St Jakob Park, where Switzerland is due to meet the Czech Republic when Euro 2008 kicks off on June 7.

Three people including a police officer needed hospital treatment after missiles were thrown. Police said 12 people were arrested.






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Source : 20min.ch








Vidéo : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgHYhtVdx4Y

Young Boys Bern - Neuchatel Xamax - 02/05/2008

Source : earthtimes.org

Violence erupts as Swiss football fans clash

Police used rubber bullets to restore order after football fans clashed in Berne and Basel in Switzerland following two Super League games Friday night. A number of fans and a police officer were hurt in clashes in Berne, according to a police statement where trouble erupted after Young Boys lost 3-1 to visitors Xamax Neuchatel.

FBC Treviso - US Grosseto - 03/05/2008

Source : earthtimes.org

Italian Serie B match scrapped after policewoman shoots herself

An Italian second division football match was called off Saturday after a policewoman shot herself in the head in an apparent suicide attempt, news reports said. The policewoman was in a critical condition in a hospital in the north-eastern city of Treviso, the Ansa news agency said.

The shooting took place while the 42-year-old policewoman was on duty outside Treviso's Tenni stadium during a Serie B game between local team Treviso and Grosseto, Ansa reported.

Fans who heard the gunshot implored officials to suspend the match in what was first thought to be an incident related to crowd trouble, Ansa said.

Violence has long marred Italian football with recent incidents including widespread rioting following the fatal police shooting of a Lazio fan in November 2007 and the killing of a policeman in clashes outside the stadium of Catania in February of the same year.

Atletico Madrid - Recreativo Huelva - 03/05/2008

Source : Reuters

Sinama-Pongolle saddened by racist abuse at Atletico

Racist abuse from Atletico Madrid fans was upsetting and disappointing, French striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle said after Recreativo Huelva's 3-0 defeat at the Calderon.

"I just don't understand that there are still people that go to football matches to insult people of another race," he said after Saturday's match.

"Atletico were rightful winners but I was upset by the racist abuse that you could hear from part of the crowd at the Calderon. It isn't right," said the former Liverpool player who has been linked with a move to Atletico.

Referee Miguel Angel Perez Lasa noted the incident in his match report, saying the crowd had made monkey noises when the player came near the stands. He ordered the match delegate to issue a warning on the public address system and said the noises then stopped.

Atletico have received a number of fines because of similar incidents at the Calderon in recent seasons.

Racism remains a problem in Spanish football with Albacete B's Belgian youth international Ritchie Kitoko reporting an incident of racist abuse from a rival player to the police at the end of last month.

Fight in Cluj - 04/05/2008

Source : ProSport

After Steaua lose 2-1 with Dinamo and CFR remain on the first place, fans from Cluj go in center of town to celebrate.
Rival fans from "U" Cluj beat 50 fans of CFR.

Police force arrest some people after that.




VIDEO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvbDNgcWxZ0

Belgium : Standard hooligans attack Anderlecht bar - 03/05/2008

Source: http://www.rtlinfo.be

Standard hooligans attacked a pub yesterday that is frequented by Anderlecht fans. The hooligans broke some windows and lit up smoke bombs inside the establishment. The police intervened. One person got injured.

Zlaté Moravce - Banská Bystrica - 03/05/2008

Source: youtube.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwqSGCYxYIw

Red Star, Croatian fans clash near Vinkovci - 05/05/2008

Source: Beta + vecernji.h

A group of youths broke up a gathering of Red Star fans from Belgrade in the village of Bobota near Vinkovci yesterday, local police have confirmed.

In the fight that ensued, five people sustained minor injuries, including two police officers and a child.

According to the Hina agency, a number of youths believed to be supporters of certain Croatian clubs, managed to gain access to the premises where the gathering was being held, whereupon a fight broke out.

Police arrested two of those involved in an attack on two policemen who had been attempting to block the gatecrashers’ path, said Vukovar-Srem Deputy Police Chief Miroslav Janić, adding that around 30 youths had made their way to Bobota in a number of cars bearing Osijek number plates.

“About ten of them managed to get past the two police officers and into the sports hall, where they clashed with members of the Delije [Red Star supporters’ club], using ‘Bengal’ firecrackers, while a number of beer bottles were also smashed, and furniture upturned,” Janić described.

He added that several Red Star officials had also attended the meeting, none of whom had been hurt.

Having been forced out of the premises, the hooligans dispersed, though the police were nonetheless able to arrest two of the troublemakers, one of whom, it has been confirmed, definitely took part in the attack on the police officers.
Janić said that one car with Osijek plates, a Kia Pride, had been damaged during the fracas.

Hajduk Split - Dinamo Zagreb - 04/05/2008

Source : Eurosport

One fan was seriously injured and 48 were arrested after champions Dinamo Zagreb, who secured their 10th league title last month, drew 1-1 at rivals Hajduk Split.

A 26-year-old fan had two fingers amputated after mishandling a pyrotechnical device that also injured four other people and police confiscated 111 flares before kick-off.

Fans fought running battles in the Adriatic city before and after the fixture, which has a history of crowd trouble.

Palmeiras - Ponte Preta - 04/05/2008

Source : Eurosport

Palmeiras supporters clashed with riot police for the second time in a week after they were barred from entering the stadium to celebrate their team's Paulista championship success.

Members of the Mancha Verde (Green Stain) supporters group tried to force their way into the Parque Stadium in Sao Paulo after their side beat Ponte Preta 5-0 in the second leg of the final, media reports said.

Television pictures showed fans hurling stones, beer cans, sticks and stones at riot police.

"They started throwing all sorts of missiles," police chief Carlos Botelho told the Estado News Agency.

Police used tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to disperse the fans.

There was also trouble during the second half of the game when supporters began letting off fireworks, sending smoke over the pitch. Police moved in, clashing with fans on the terraces.

Last Tuesday, fans also clashed with riot police outside the stadium when tickets for the match sold out and hundreds of supporters, who had queued all night, were left empty-handed.

Fans hurled bottles and stones and at the police and the trouble spilled into a nearby shopping centre.

Arminia Bielefeld - VFL Bochum - 03/04/2008

Source : earthtimes.org + Kicker Online + bild.de

German federation launches probe after steward attacked by fans

The German Football Federation (DFB) Monday launched an investigation after a steward was seriously injured by fans at a Bundesliga match between Arminia Bielefeld and Bochum on Saturday. The DFB's control committee has invited both clubs to make statements by Wednesday.

Bielefeld said they were "deeply shocked" by the incident in which the 34-year-old man suffered a fractured skull and jaw. He was taken to hospital but was not in a critical condition, a club spokesman said

The steward was kicked and punched when he attempted to intervene in a Bochum fan section after fireworks and rockets had been set off.

Ten people were detained following the incident, and investigations were continuing against a 19-year-old man and 21-year-old woman arrested later near Bielefeld central railway station, a police spokesman said.

Estrela Amadora - SL Benfica - 04/05/2008

Source: mail (thanks to the sender)

Benfica ultras (No Name boys or Diabos vermelhos ) attacked the coach of their team after a tie in Amadora , some torches were threw at the coach and police controled the situation , no Arrests Are Made .

Italy's right and left swap accusations of extremism - 06/05/2008

Source : Euronews

Two more suspects have been arrested after a killing in the Italian city of Verona, linked to far-right extremism. Five youths are now in custody after a 29-year-old man was fatally beaten by suspected neo-fascists. Nicola Tommasoli has been in a coma since Thursday's attack, and has been declared clinically dead.

Police displayed seized weapons and neo-Nazi paraphernalia; the five suspects are thought to be hard-core right-wing fans of Verona's football team.

One of Italy's most prominent politicians, however, warned people not to exaggerate the attack.

The right-wing National Alliance leader, Gianfranco Fini, agreed that neo-Nazi sympathisers should be jailed if necessary, but said a recent left-wing pro-Palestinian rally in Turin was far more serious.

But left-winger Ermete Realacci said Fini must be mistaken - the attack and the rally were equally worrying.

The left provoked outrage in Turin by burning US and Israeli flags in support of the Palestinians. The right swept the board in Italy's recent elections, and the left accuses them of provoking intolerance by linking crime to immigration.

Over 150 English fans banned from Moscow Champions League final - 06/05/2008

Source : RIA Novosti

More than 150 English soccer fans have been ordered by British police to hand over their passports at least five days before the upcoming Champions League final in Moscow, British authorities said on Tuesday.

Manchester United are due to take on Chelsea in the Luzhniki stadium on May 21 in a match that has attracted as much attention for the visa and hooligan related issues surrounding the event as for the evening of drama and emotion that is widely expected to unfold on the pitch.

Eighty-three Manchester United fans and 69 Chelsea supporters have been ordered to hand over their passports. All of them have at some point been convicted on charges relating to hooliganism.

Each side will receive 21,000 tickets for the game as Moscow prepares for an invasion of English soccer fans notorious for their heavy drinking.

British police have also passed on information to their Russian colleagues concerning known hooligans with a request not to allow them to enter the country if they somehow manage to make their way to the former Soviet state's borders. Known ticket touts have also been included in the banning order.

However, in an interview with the Evening Standard newspaper, Assistant Chief Constable Steve Thomas said he was not expecting any violence between the two groups of English fans.

"The risk will come from a hooligan element in Russia," Thomas claimed. "The Russians model themselves on English supporters in the seventies and eighties. They are mad and their mentality is that violence is part of football."

"The Russian authorities are doing a massive amount to deal with that, and the message to English fans is don't let the Russian hooligans drag you into trouble," he went on.

Thomas, the Association of Chief Police Officers' head man on football matters, will be one of a group of 18 British police - including eight from Scotland Yard - who are set to accompany English fans to the game.

Russia's Foreign Ministry confirmed on Tuesday that British soccer fans traveling to Moscow for the Champions League final would not need a visa. UEFA has also announced that fans will need to present a valid match ticket, a valid passport, and a completed immigration form upon arrival in Russia.

Anyone overstaying the 72-hour entry period will then have to pay the fee for a regular visa when leaving the country, UEFA said.

British authorities also announced on Tuesday that they would do everything in their power to assist Russian fans intending to travel to Manchester to support Zenit St. Petersburg in their UEFA Cup final against Glasgow Rangers on May 14.

However, Britain has yet to follow Russia's example in scrapping visa requirements, although it has said that its embassy in Moscow and its consulate in St. Petersburg will be working 24 hours a day to process an expected 10,000 visa applications from Zenit supporters.

Zenit, owned and financed by Russian energy giant Gazprom, went through to the first major European final in its history with a 5-1 aggregate victory over German giants Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup semi-final, including a stunning 4-0 home win on May 1.

Football thugs banned from matches - 06/05/2008

Source : Dunstabke Today

Hooligans set out to 'establish their name'
A group of "self-styled football hooligans", one of whom was only 15 years old, have been banned from attending matches for up to five years.

The ten hooligans, who were banned following their conviction for violence after a Luton Town match in October, are banned from any regulated games in England and Wales, and will have to surrender their passports to the police when England play abroad.

The men, all but one of whom are from the Luton and Dunstable area, were charged with public order offences following Luton's game against Nottingham Forest on October 27 last year. After the match a fight broke out in Birch Link, Luton, and police released CCTV images of the men and appealed for the public's help in identifying them.

As well as the bans, some of the men were ordered to carry out community service and given night-time curfews.

Police said the group, who were sentenced at Luton Magistrates Court on Wednesday, April 23, had set out to make a name for themselves as hooligans.

Det Con Melissa Lambton from Luton CID said: "Banning orders are a proven deterrent against football violence at matches both at home and abroad and we are pleased with the magistrate's decision."

For a full list of those who were banned, see the May 15 edition of the Luton News and Dunstable Gazette.

Amiens - PSG - French Cup - 06/05/2008

Source : Ouest France

Teargas forces French Cup semi-final interruption

A French Cup semi-final between second division Amiens and Ligue 1 strugglers Paris St Germain was interrupted on Tuesday when teargas was sprayed from a section of the stands filled with PSG fans.
The game was stopped after just over 30 minutes of play. It resumed after a 10-minute break.



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Source : SkySports

PSG booked a final place after overcoming Amiens in a tense match - which was delayed for 15 minutes in the first-half after tear gas used by the police to control crowd trouble outside the ground drifted into the stadium.

FIGHT BETWEEN ULTRAS, NAPLES AND ROME - 06/05/2008

Source: THE MORNING

Ambush full motorway, yesterday morning at dell'autogrill di Montepulciano, in the province of Siena: 30 ultras of Naples direct Turin have attacked and then chased for about thirty kilometers, a bus ultras Rome direct Genoa . The budget of the morning of madness is, fortunately, only three minor injuries, fans romanisti. Seventeen Napolitain blocked from flying along the highway, were denounced and arrested by police in Florence. The accusations are serious criminal by the holding of objects likely to offend, the launching of objects, and damage to private and violence. Fourteen of the seventeen arrested had previous criminal record - even for similar episodes - and could not even follow the Naples were subjected to Daspo regime, the ban on access to stadiums. Even in Turin, after the race, there was tension between supporters and blue grenade, but all ended, since the hard core of tifoseria of naples was not present at the Olympic stadium, the attack on the bus was consumed in space of half an hour. It all started shortly after 10.30 am, when the group left from Naples to cars and minibuses has intercepted the bus with 50 romanisti to the service of Montepulciano. was tried in the clash pitch adjacent to the car grill, but the coach of the ultras of Rome and managed promptly defilarssi from ambush, Neapolitans have riatteso of giallorossi bus on the ramp exit from the service. While the half passed, it redeemed the ambush from both sides of the road, which at that point shrinks are risbucati Neapolitans, faces covered and armed with sticks, spranghe, chains and even a fire extinguisher. Precisely with the extinguisher have broken through a glass bus causing injuries to some occupants, while the other attackers were trying to stop the vehicle. The readiness reflected the driver has avoided the worst of the bus and romanisti managed to take the highway. At that point is the hot shot: back on board their means, Neapolitans have tallonato the bus for some thirty kilometers, speronandolo several times and trying to stop placing themselves across along the roadway. Since bus romanista, however, was reporting to match 113. The police cars and road questure of Arezzo and Siena were sent on the motorway concerned, so the bus of the ultras of Rome, was able to stop and be escorted to the toll of Arezzo (where was xport complaint by the same), while the cars of Neapolitans were inseguite and reached up to Florence. Were not made public the names of the 17 arrested.