Season 09/10 - August

Middlesbrough FC - Doncaster Rovers - 22/08/2009

Source : Doncaster Today

Fans hurt as crowd trouble hits big game

FOOTBALL supporters who watched rival fans clash after a Doncaster Rovers match say a police presence at the ground beforehand would have prevented the trouble.
Violence flared following Rovers' game at Championship rivals Middlesbrough with supporters from both sides clashing outside the Teesside club's Riverside Stadium.

The game was a police free match - meaning no officers were at the ground - as club stewards were left to control the 22,041 crowd.
Witnesses said bottles and coins were thrown by both sets of fans in the ugly scenes after Doncaster's 2-0 defeat on Saturday.

Hundreds of supporters were goading each other outside the stand, which housed the visiting support, with around 50 involved in scuffles.

A number of Rovers fans were reported to have suffered head and facial injuries.

Some Doncaster fans were said to have lifted a metal safety barrier off the ground to protect fellow away fans from being attacked by their Middlesbrough rivals.

Police officers, who were alerted by the home football club, turned up to quell the trouble after around ten minutes.

Many Rovers supporters said they thought more officers at the ground would have averted any problems.

Paul Mayfield, secretary of the Doncaster Rovers Supporters Club, said: "I was surprised there was no police in and around the ground - even a small force would have prevented anything kicking off. I don't think a full police presence was needed but it did take the police a long time to react.

"It was quite shocking to see the trouble because Doncaster Rovers fans don't have a reputation for getting into bother. I saw a few fans with blood running down their faces, including a bloke with his young son.

"Violence is something you don't want to see at football matches."

Police confirmed no officers were deployed in or around the stadium but said there were a number on duty in Middlesbrough town centre.

A spokesman for Cleveland Police said: "We responded as we would to any high-priority call by immediately sending mounted officers and other available units to the scene.

"The small pocket of disorder was quickly dealt with and the crowds were dispersed safely with no further incident."

Middlesbrough FC said it had hosted several "police free" football matches over the past three seasons and hoped to continue staging games without officers in the future.

Neil Bausor, the club's chief operating officer, said: "We have worked tirelessly over many years to create what is a safe and enjoyable matchday experience for all supporters.

"We will not allow this one isolated incident to deter us from retaining a safe environment for supporters of Middlesbrough and visiting clubs to enjoy watching football."

A 35-year-old from Middlesbrough was charged after being arrested on suspicion of a public order offence. He was due to appear in court today.

Cardiff City - Bristol Rovers - Carling Cup - 26/08/2009

Source : BBC NEWS

Football fans arrested after game

Five men and a 15-year-old youth have been arrested after a disturbance broke out among football fans at Cardiff Central Station on Wednesday night.

The six were arrested after a number of Bristol Rovers fans refused to board the 2200 BST service from the city to Bristol Temple Meads after the match.

Rovers had been beaten 3-1 by Cardiff City in a Carling Cup clash earlier that night.

British Transport Police said all five were helping officers with inquiries.

Officers from South Wales Police and British Transport Police (BTP) were deployed at Cardiff Central station to keep rival fans apart.

But disorder broke out and five people were arrested.

They were a 21-year-old man from Southmead, an 18-year-old man from Pucklechurch, a 43-year-old man from Patchway, a 20-year-old man from Patchway and a 15-year-old youth from Patchway. A fifth man from Bristol has also been arrested.

None of the police officers were injured.

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Source : Bristol Evening Post

Bristol Rovers fans arrested over police attack

Five Bristol Rovers fans were arrested when police were attacked at Cardiff Central station following the Carling Cup match between Rovers and Cardiff last night.

Four men and a 15-year-old youth have been detained and are being questioned.

British Transport Police said fans refused to board the 10pm service to Bristol Temple Meads after the match, which Cardiff won 3-1.

Officers from South Wales Police (SWP) and British Transport Police (BTP) were deployed to keep rival fans apart but as BTP officers maintained a cordon at the entrance to keep Cardiff fans out, a number of the 150 Rovers' contingent nearby began attacking officers and tried to break through the cordon to get to rival fans.

A 21-year-old from Southmead, an 18-year-old from Pucklechurch, a 43-year-old, 20-year-old and 15-year-old, all from Patchway, were arrested. None of the police officers was injured.

Superintendent Mike Layton, of BTP, said: "Those guilty of taking part in football-related disorder will be dealt with severely by the courts and Football Banning Orders applied for.

"Behaviour such as that witnessed at Cardiff Central station on Wednesday night will not be tolerated.

"BTP operates a zero tolerance approach when it comes to disorder and anti-social behaviour when fans use the rail network to travel to and from matches.

"Railway staff, passengers and law-abiding football fans have the right to travel without fear and without their safety being compromised by the small minority of so-called fans who spoil it for everyone else."

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Source : South Wales Echo

Rovers’ fan caught with CS gas at Cardiff City match

TWELVE football fans were arrested before and after Cardiff City’s clash with Severnside rivals Bristol Rovers.

A CS gas canister was among items seized from Rovers fans by police on duty in and around the Bluebirds’ Leckwith ground, where City knocked Rovers out of the Carling Cup with a 3-1 second-round victory.

A South Wales Police spokeswoman said: “The arrests – eight before the match and four after – accounted for less than 1% of the travelling fans.”

She added: “Ten of the arrests were for minor public order offences, one for theft and one for possession of an offensive weapon.

“Officers were proactive in carrying out searches to ensure the safety of the public and there were no incidents during the game or any reported injuries.”

She said the force worked with Cardiff City officials for two years in designing the new ground and “have been successful in reducing the risk of public disorder on match days and creating an even better family atmosphere.”

Warning to football fans over Derby match - 27/08/2009

Source : Fenland Today

Football fans without tickets for this weekend's match between Nottingham Forest and Derby County are being urged by police to stay at home.
Officers are also warning fans they will not tolerate any trouble at Saturday's match at the City Ground in Nottingham.

Superintendent Mark Holland, police commander for the game, said: "Last season there were three games between the two clubs in less than a month, and the vast majority of the fans were extremely well-behaved.

"We expect the same kind of conduct this weekend, and there will be a proportionate police presence to allow fans with tickets to travel to and from the ground safely and enjoy the game.

"Any fans that have not got a ticket should simply not travel to the match, and my officers and police spotters from Derbyshire will concentrate their efforts on identifying anyone travelling without a ticket."

There are also no trains running between Derby and Nottingham on Saturday because of engineering work.

Mr Holland added: "Anyone that is subject to a football banning order seen trying to get near the ground will be arrested and removed from the area, while any Derby County fans seen in Nottingham Forest areas of the ground will be removed from the stadium.

"We will also have plain-clothed police officers sitting in the crowd to spot any troublemakers."

The game kicks off at 1pm.

MŠK Žilina - FK Partizan - UEFA - 27/08/09

Source: sportal.rs

Troubles took place before the kick off in front of the stadium when group of Zhilina fans started throwing missiles at Partizan fans. Couple of cars were damaged and one cafe in the vicinity.
At the end of the match Zhilina fans invaded the pitch and reached the Grobari sector, shortly they flew. Four people were injured.
6 Zhilina fans were arrested.

unofficially Zhilina had help from Poland


VIDEO: http://www.sme.sk/video/?id=11358&st=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmIQ6TF1S74&feature=player_embedded













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Source : B92 News

Injuries reported in clash between hooligans

Four people were hurt in clashes between rival football hooligans after a match between Slovakian Zilina and Belgrade’s Partizan.

Two Serbian hooligans were taken to the hospital, according to Slovakian television station TA3, while the nationality of the other injured persons was not given out.

“Our information shows that Zilina supporters were throwing rocks and beer mugs at the Serbian hooligans,” a Slovakian police official told reporters.

Six automobiles were damaged and one café was completely demolished in the clashed in front of the stadium.

Zilina supports said that the police did not respond quickly enough to separate the hooligans.

Despite minor provocations and verbal spats, there were no clashes during the day in the city, however.

Partizan - MŠK Žilina - UEFA - 20/08/2009

Source : Partizan website

New arrests after Cambuur-Roda JC - ??/08/2009

Source: mail (thanks to the sender)

After the match between sc Cambuur-Roda JC on 03-06-09 there were big riots between 600 Cambuur ultras and the police.
During and after the match for promotion to the highest division there were big riots in and outside the stadium, some 100
Cambuur ultras wanted to attack the Roda fans inside the stadium but the riot police came between, and after the match
that Roda had won with penalty's, a group of 600 Cambuur ultras (MI-SIDE ULTRAS 1979) attacked the leaving Roda fans and
the riot police, 21 police men were injured.
The riots were 4 ours long, till 02.00 in the night and only stopped when the riot police jused tairgas.

The police arrested that night 13 ultras of cambuur and the weeks after the match another 47 fans were arrested at home
in the city Leeuwarden after the police looked at many pictures and movie made by the police that night.
Now the police want to arrest some more hooligans the don't know so they have placed pictures in newspapers tv and on the
internet, and every new home match of Cambuur the police arrests new ultras.

LINKS:

http://www.politie.nl/dadergezocht/Archiefonderzoeken/voetbalrelleninenrondcambuurstadioninleeuwarden.asp

http://www.avro.nl/tv/programmas_a-z/opsporing_verzocht/zaken_deze_week/20090609/leeuwarden_voetbalrellen.aspx

PICS SOON

All 15 fans arrested for Newcastle station disorder are bailed - 28/08/2009

Source: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/news/All-15-fans-arrested-for.5597398.jp

All 15 football fans arrested for disorder at Newcastle Central Station have been bailed.

They were arrested after trouble as Black Cats fans returned from a pre-season friendly in Scotland on August 8.

Northumbria Police has faced strong criticism from supporters about its alleged use of force and overall handling of the situation, which saw three fans needing hospital treatment for serious injuries.

The police said it mounted an operation at the station as it had intelligence that hooligans from gangs attaching themselves to Sunderland and Newcastle United had pre-arranged a fight.

It is believed fans of both teams were among the 15 arrested.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), decided the incident did not warrant further investigation and said Northumbria Police had acted appropriately.

However, the national Football Supporters' Federation – which has been gathering evidence from SAFC fans caught up in the disorder – has criticised the way the IPCC carried out its assessment and the legality of its decision.

The organisation has called for the resignation of North East commissioner Gary Garland and a new investigation.

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Source: http://www.sunderlandecho.com/safc/New-arrest-after-Newcastle-station.5597940.jp

New arrest after Newcastle station violence

A sixteenth football fan was arrested in Nottingham in connection with the disorder at Newcastle Central Station.
The man was arrested yesterday and brought back to a police station in Northumbria where he was quizzed by police.

DCI Mark Anastasi, who is leading the investigation, said: "We pledged that we would track down all those involved in the disorder wherever they were.

"There will be further arrests expected soon."

Chorley football fan wants to be banned from games - 28/08/2009

Source: http://www.thisislancashire.co.uk/news/4570761.Chorley_football_fan_wants_to_be_banned_from_games/

A Manchester City fan from Chorley arrested during a game at Ewood Park told magistrates he thought it would be a good idea if they imposed a football banning order.

Blackburn magistrates heard Anthony Yeo was forcibly ejected from the ground and was arrested by police when he tried to push his way back in.

Yeo, 31, of Cottam Street, Chorley, pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly outside the Darwen End.

He was fined £50 with £65 costs and made subject to a football banning order for three years.

Yeo told the magistrates he was an alcoholic and hoped a banning order would help him.

“I think it would be a good idea because it takes away the chance of going to football and drinking,” he said.

Manchester City, who took 7,000 travelling fans to the game, won the match 2-0.

OGC Nice - Montpellier - 29/08/2009

Source : AFP + Midi-Libre + OGCN websites

The match between Nice and Montpellier was earlier halted for 20 minutes after visiting fans threw flares onto the pitch from the away end, an AFP reporter at the ground said.

Referee Laurent Duhamel sent the teams to the dressing room on the hour but play resumed some 20 minutes later after police had intervened and detained several fans in the terrace concerned.

"I'm disgusted, those incidents don't reflect the club's image," Montpellier president Louis Nicollin said. "We don't speak about proper supporters. Those people are stupid."

Rampage of the cyberthugs: How veteran hooligans used the internet to set up bloody battle - 27/08/2009

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1209278/Rampage-cyberthugs-How-veteran-hooligans-used-internet-set-bloody-battle.html

The internet is fuelling a terrifying resurgence in football violence involving veteran hooligans, say police sources.

Fans officially banned from grounds up and down the country are using mobile phones and the web to choreograph punch-ups before and after matches.

The trend has gathered momentum amid a flood of films and books recalling the mayhem-scarred Seventies and Eighties - when Saturday afternoon meant violence.

Police yesterday described football hooliganism as a 'lingering menace' after a man was stabbed and 13 arrests were made in East London on Tuesday night.

Six hours of confrontations before, during and after the Carling Cup match between West Ham and Millwall were arranged by mobile phone following weeks of taunts on internet football forums.

Officers believe a number of those arrested had been the subject of previous banning orders to stop them attending games. Inside the ground fans fought with police and stewards. Play was suspended when supporters invaded the pitch.

At one stage during the bedlam, one fan appeared to join in the taunts on the pitch while his young son was on his shoulders.
Amid concerns that the violent scenes could damage England's chances of hosting the 2018 World Cup, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said they were 'disgraceful'.

He added: 'What happened at Upton Park was serious. We will not be returning to the days when a hooligan minority shamed the name of football.'

But although the authorities were keen to paint the flare-up as a oneoff, the truth is that outbreaks of violence remain a sporadic problem around the country.

Only last Saturday a Stoke City fan was critically injured in an attack by a Birmingham City mob.

Eric Dunning, Emeritus Professor at the University of Leicester, said: 'The fans have grown with the times and they are aware that CCTV can trap them.

'This is why they have turned to technology such as the mobile phone and internet. They are still very organised and arrange meets away from football grounds to avoid detection.

'The use of the internet also debunks the myth that all the fans are working class - there are middle-class people involved in football hooliganism.'

Older West Ham and Millwall fans helped fuel the Upton Park violence after posting messages on rival websites with one reading: 'Make sure you bring your bats and don't bring your kids.'

Only last month members of West Ham's notorious Inter City Firm (ICF) held a 30th-anniversary 'reunion' at which the Millwall cup tie was highlighted as a target.

Trouble flared shortly after 6pm as thousands of fans headed for the ground. Bottles and bricks were thrown as rival gangs faced each other.

In the continuing mayhem, three people were taken to hospital including a 44-year old man who was stabbed in the chest and was yesterday in a stable condition.

John Williams, senior lecturer in sociology at Leicester University, said: 'Any football fan would know that the enmity between West Ham and Millwall goes back many years.

'I would have rated this game as the most dangerous in terms of possibility of violence for many years. I believe the police and football authorities took their eye off the ball.'

Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe described Tuesday's scenes as a 'disgrace to football' and added: 'We will not tolerate any return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s when hooliganism plagued the game.'

Yesterday police were examining CCTV footage and promised those involved would face football banning orders once they had gone before the courts.

The penalty for breaching such an order is up to six months in jail, a fine of up to £5,000 or both.

Currently 3,172 fans are banned for between two and ten years.
Football riot made on YouTube - and in Hollywood

By RICHARD PENDLEBURY

Some years ago I spent a memorable weekend with a 'top boy' from one of England's leading football hooligan gangs.

Big, bald, fleshy and tattooed, ' Dave' was a docile enough companion during our first day together.
The second, however, found him utterly and disconcertingly transformed.

Under the influence of drink and the Class A drugs he dealt for a living, Dave trembled with barely suppressed violence against strangers.

In other words, he had gone into character; the stuff of Saturday afternoon nightmare.
His 'battle honours' stretched back to the 1970s and had more recently included Euro '96, Dublin '95 and France '98.

But by 2000, he had become something of a dinosaur; one of the last of his species.

The success of court orders which banned thugs from football grounds, CCTV, all-seater stadia and other modern policing devices to control the hooligan scourge had marginalised and constrained Dave and his ilk. He was living on past 'glories'.

But he was not alone in that. I met Dave at the height of the popularity of the hooligan memoir, when it seemed that every bonehead who had ever swung a fist or bottle at an opposition supporter was going into print.

Even as the particularly British social blight seemed to be receding, a lucrative, quasi- commemorative industry was growing; almost misty-eyed accounts of the good old days of terrace warfare, dressed up as socio-psychological research and made more palatable by a soupcon of 'with hindsight' regret.

One wonders what part the mythologising of hooliganism played in what happened in the Green Street area of the London borough of Newham.

Green Street runs from Upton Park Tube station to the stadium of West Ham United Football Club.
For several hours, it was the scene of violent confrontations which to many seemed a throwback in time. In many respects, it was.

Before this week, West Ham and Millwall, whose own ground is a few miles across the Thames, had not played each other for five years. But the clubs have a history of intense rivalry which has more to do with their respective hooligan elements than what happens on the field of play.

Since their last meeting, the antipathy and exploits of their rival thugs have become internationally notorious, thanks to the Green Street film franchise.

Green Street (released in the U.S. as Green Street Hooligans) and its sequel Green Street 2: Stand Your Ground, from the California-based Lionsgate company, both concern the exploits of the 'Green Street Elite' - a fictitious gang of West Ham hooligans.

Green Street was co-written by Dougie Brimson, one of the leading authors of the hooligan memoir boom of the 1990s and described as the 'Yob Laureate'.

His screenplay appeared following the 2004 success of Football Factory - the ultraviolent film adaptation of the hooligan novel of the same title.

Both Green Street films have as their dramatic core the hooligan rivalry between West Ham and Millwall fans.

The original Green Street ends with a fatal confrontation between the rival gangs. Green Street 2, which was released to video this spring, is entirely focused on the continuing mayhem - this time behind the bars of a jail where the hooligans are cooling their heels after the previous mayhem.

It opens with a gang member exercising in his cell to the explanatory voiceover: 'Hooligans, thugs, louts, yobs, headbangers, geezers; you can love or hate us, we just don't care. This is the way we show our love for the greatest game on earth ...'

Any artistic credibility or inspiration has long been exhausted, as witnessed by the following exposition in its publicity puff:

'Following the deadly climax of Green Street Hooligans, several members of the West Ham firm and numerous members of Millwall end up in jail. The GSE quickly discover the brutality of life on the inside, as they are constant targets of the superior numbers and better-financed Millwall crew.

'Football on the inside and out is followed fervently by the prisoners and wins and losses by both are quickly followed by punishment or reward. This could mean a beating or an extra shower or a day of visitation, which inspires extreme behaviour.

'When overcrowding compels a need for the early release of a fortunate few, fate brings West Ham and Millwall together again this time on a Pitch. The stakes are the highest they have ever been for all concerned with death or freedom quite literally a goal away. Game On.'

There's no moral comment, nor condemnation. And precious little bearing on real life.

If the premise seems a little far-fetched then it is probably because the sole writing credit is given to a middle-aged American whose knowledge of Cockney culture was probably rooted in Dick Van Dyke's appearance in Mary Poppins.

Green Street is regarded in America as similarly authentic slice of Limey life. And yet it has also proved a DVD hit here. Judging by comments on fan forums, most realise that it is very poor as a piece of art or as a slice of social realism. But they don't watch it for that.

On YouTube you can find clips advertised as 'All the fights in Green Street'.

This is extraordinarily helpful. All the truly terrible dialogue and spurious navel gazing is discarded so we can get right down to what the film-makers know (but won't admit) their target audience wants: heads being cracked, noses broken, bleach poured in eyes; West Ham and Millwall's finest going at each other like lunatics, growling: ' Outnumbered? No matter. Cos we'll always stand our ground.'

Which brings us to the sudden outpouring of violence on the streets of London this week.

The internet message boards had been signalling that Tuesday would be 'special' ever since the fixture had been announced.

'Yessss!!! Millwall at home!!! There will be a few faces coming out of retirement for this one methinks,' wrote one poster on a West Ham forum.

You can be sure he was not referring to the possibility of Sir Geoff Hurst (West Ham's World Cup 1966 idol) returning to the team, but the old guard of West Ham's hooligan element who, like Dave, had largely taken a back seat in recent years.

The word was it would be a ' one-off' - a bloody trip down Memory Lane for all those ageing gladiators.

But a fair proportion of those involved were far too young to have been there at football violence's 1980s peak. Not too young, though, to be revved up by the ludicrous hoolie-porn of the Green Street franchise and the others of its genre.

It is unlikely to die out just yet. Television footage of Tuesday night's violence was screened as far away as Australia. Now there are rumours abroad of a Green Street 3, for release in 2010. There is still life in the franchise.

Game On, indeed.

Hooligans arrested at dawn - 27/08/2009

Source: http://dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/123075/Hooligans-arrested-at-dawn

FOOTBALL yobs suspected of planning a street battle were arrested in dawn raids yesterday.

Police had been warned earlier this month that hooligans from the Newcastle Gremlins and Seaburn Casuals gangs were preparing to clash.

They had arranged to meet for a mass brawl in Newcastle city centre to coincide with Sunderland fans arriving back from a friendly game in Edinburgh.

About 40 troublemakers clashed with officers who were trying to escort the fans aboard a train home.

Det Chief Insp Mark Anastasi said he expected more arrests and added: “This is just the first phase of our operation.”

Iraklis - Aris Saloniki - 29/08/2009

Source: Associated Press (http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=1044367&lang=eng_news&cate_img=145.jpg&cate_rss=news_Sports)

Javier Campora scored two goals as Aris drew 2-2 at crosstown rival Iraklis on Saturday in a match delayed for 45 minutes just a few seconds after kickoff when an Iraklis fan slapped and shouted obscenities at Aris goalkeeper Michalis Sifakis

Private security employees did nothing to prevent the fan from reaching Sifakis and the fan was not arrested.

Germany: Türkischer SC Hamm - Kamener SC - 23/08/2009

Source : express.de

After 80 minutes of playing, about 60 people (players and supporters) fought on the pitch.
A man, aged 37, was hospitalized and 4 other people were injured.
Everything started when a turkish player fought another one.
Thousand of policemen restored order.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

FC Schalke 04 II - Rot-Weiss Essen - 17/08/2009

Source : derwesten.de

Some of the 1300 Essen supporters who made the trip to Gelsenkirchen caused troubles at the train station.
Flares and bottles were threw.
Three people were injured and 7 other arrested.

Translation Underground Fans (c)

Rot-Weiss Essen - 1.FC Saarbrücken - 23/08/2009

Source : Mail (thanks to the sender...Please don't use his pics !!!)

Abuout 10 Nancy ultras (Saturday FC mob) were wth Saarbruck friends.
A banner "SK Essen" was stolen during the game by SFC.

Essen Tifo n :


Nancy/Saarbruck answer:

Union Berlin - Hansa Rostock - 21/08/2009

Source : Mail (thanks to the sender)

About 1000 policemen were on duty for this high-risks game.
Many Rostock supporters arrived without tickets and were checked by police.
Finally, 200 of them (hardcore) were escorted back to the train station.











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Source : suptras.de

RC Lens - AJ Auxerre - 15/08/2009

Source: mail (thanks to the sender)

No arranged off, but something occured in front of a pub, opposing 10 lad son both sides.
Local side won.

Romanie : CFR Timisoara - UTA Arad - 29/08/2009

Source : Mail + Photos UTA1945.ro

Forty Timisoara supporters tried to enter the stadium with the atim to attack their rivals but police restored order.
Then, thousand of UTA supporters tried to reach local supporters...NO chance...

Romania: FC Astra Ploiesti - Rapid Bucarest - 29/08/2009

Source : GSP.ro + Presse

A few troubles occured on away fans sector, following the defeat of their team 3-1.

Poland - Northern Ireland: ‘Psycho fans’ looking to kill - 30/08/2009

Source: http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sunday-life/lsquopsycho-fansrsquo-looking-to-killl-14474102.html

Polish thugs mad for revenge Rival gangs unite to attack Leader warns of stabbings NI fans are told to stay away

These are the maniac Polish football hooligans who have threatened to attack and even kill Northern Ireland fans during the Poland game next weekend. A machete-wielding thug, who uses the name Krzysztof, pictured here with one of his henchmen, is the leader of the ultra-violent FC Ruch Chorzow ‘Psycho Fans'.

The notorious hooligan firm, which is one of the most violent in Europe, is based in the town of Chorzow — where Northern Ireland play Poland in a crucial World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

Thousands of soccer thugs from across Poland will descend on the town for the game.

They want to repeat the violent scenes witnessed in Belfast last March when Polish hooligans attacked Northern Ireland fans. Some locals retaliated by targeting the homes of Eastern Europeans living near Windsor Park.

This has made the Polish hooligans’ blood boil and they are determined to get revenge.

Sunday Life met some of the thugs when we travelled to Chorzow last week to investigate the potential for trouble.

This follows the violence which broke out in south Belfast in March when Northern Ireland took on Poland at Windsor Park.

Before and after the game, which Northern Ireland won 3-2, serious rioting broke out involving dozens of fans. Eleven police officers were injured and nine people, mainly Polish, were arrested. The trouble led to racist attacks across Belfast.

Gang leader Krzysztof chillingly warned in an interview with this reporter in Poland that his Psycho Fans will retaliate by murdering a Northern Ireland fan.

“Your fans had better stay away from my town,” he warned.

“They will get stabbed when they come to Chorzow. Maybe

they will get killed.

“We are the Psycho Fans and we are known all over Poland. Maybe after Saturday we will be known all over Northern Ireland.”

Security sources say they have arrangements in place to safeguard local fans during the trip.

But after putting on a show of strength Krzysztof and his second-in-command, ‘Jan', showed Sunday Life around the Chorzow slums where the Psycho Fans firm is based.

Murals honouring the local team FC Ruch Chorzow adorn most walls in the run down and densely populated district.

One of the paintings is dedicated to two Psycho Fans who were killed during clashes with rival supporters.

“They are our brothers,” added Krzysztof.

“We honour their memory on our walls, and we honour their memory when we fight for them.”

Krzysztof then pointed to a tree where scarves and shirts of rival teams are tied.

“We took the scarves and jerseys from their fans after we beat them up, then we burn the tree,” he laughed.

“Northern Ireland jerseys will be put on the tree next week.”

Amazingly rival Polish hooligans are preparing to put decades of differences aside and join together to target Northern Ireland fans. Sworn enemies — including the Psycho Fans, Terror Corps and Sharks — will unite to attack anyone in a green and white shirt.

“We hate FC Katowice, they are our enemy,” explained Krzysztof.

“But for Saturday they will join with us to fight with Northern Ireland.

“All Polish hooligans from Lech Poznan, Wisla Krakow and Ruch Chorzow will come together.

“This happened only one time before, in 1993 when Poland played England. We beat England off our streets.” Krzysztof, who has reasonable English and has a good job, said hooliganism was a way of life for football fans in Poland.

Born in the shadow of Silesian Stadium, where Saturday's game will take place, he explained how fans are introduced to violence from a young age.

“I have been a hooligan from a young boy.

“The Psycho Fans are number one, we have no fear.

“We travel all over Poland with FC Ruch Chorzow.

“When we fight we win,” he boasted.

The Psycho Fans leader then pulled out a huge machete to emphasise his point.

“We carry knives, taser guns, batons, mac-hetes,” said Krzy-sztof. “We have no fear.

“We want to kill Northern Ireland.

“Their fans should stay away.”

Despite the best efforts of the Polish government, hooliganism is still rife throughout the country. In 2006 eight fans were stabbed to death during clashes between rival firms.

The same year 150 rampaging Polish thugs were arrested in Germany before a World Cup game.

In 2007, Polonia Warsaw and Legia Warsaw fans fought running battles with each other through Poland's capital city.

More than 1,300 riot cops armed with plastic bullets and CS gas failed to control the gangs.

Legia Warsaw were then banned from competing in European competition when hundreds of supporters wrecked a stadium in Lithuania.

Twenty-six people were arrested, seven of whom were jailed. The violence continued into last year when a Korona Kielce fan was stabbed to death during a game with Wisla Krakow.

Fearing trouble, the majority of Northern Ireland's 1,000-strong away support are planning to travel to Berlin and take a 14-hour round bus trip to the game.

However some supporters will stay in Katowice, which is a 10-minute car journey from Chorzow's Silesian Stadium.

A spokesman for the Irish Football Association said the Polish authorities have guaranteed that travelling fans will be safe.

He explained that buses will be provided in Berlin and Katowice to transport supporters to the game.

Northern Ireland boss Nigel Worthin-gton is also hoping for a quiet night.

“Obviously we want our fans to be safe and give us their usual wonderful support,” he said.

Hungary: Kispest Honved Budapest - Ujpest Budapest - 23/08/2009

Source: forum

A confrontation opposed about 75 violas who attacked the pub of Honvéd supporters, many casualties especially due to the missiles used.

Poland : Ruch Chorzów - Polonia Warszawa - 29/08/2009

Source : niebiescy.pl

Steaua Bucharest - Dinamo Bucharest - 30/08/2009

Source : stelisti.mysport.ro

Derby County - Nottingham Forest - 29/08/2009

Source : Derby Evening Telegraph

Eight football fans arrested after Derby and Forest clash

POLICE arrested eight football fans after yesterday's Championship clash between Derby County and Nottingham Forest.

The fans, who were all men, were arrested in connection with public order offences after the fixture, held at Forest's City Ground.

It is not yet known whether any of the men were from Derbyshire.

Superintendent Mark Holland, of Nottinghamshire police, was at the game and said the majority of fans were well behaved.

He said: "The management of the game was highly successful - all the officers worked really hard and there was good coordination between British Transport Police, Derbyshire police and Nottinghamshire police.

"I would like to thank the huge majority of fans who behaved themselves and enjoyed the game."

Forest took a 3-0 lead after the first half of Saturday's game but Derby fought back in the second half to make it 3-2.

But the match was marred by clashes between the players and coaching staff from both teams, after Forest striker Nathan Tyson celebrated victory in front of thousands of Derby fans.

That sparked an argument between the two teams and their conduct is due to be investigated by the Football Association.

A spokesman said: "The FA can confirm that we will be investigating the incidents at Nottingham Forest as a matter of urgency."

Welsh landlord boards up boozer after clash at cup match - 30/08/2009

Source : walesonline

THE Welsh pub landlord who witnessed the return of vicious fighting between rival football hooligans said last night: “It was like a war zone.”

Ron Bolwell, 71, splits his time between two bars he runs in London’s tough east end and the seaside home he shares with wife Hazel on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast.

But he had a grandstand view of Tuesday night’s shameful running battles between Millwall and West Ham United fans which saw 13 people arrested and left one man fighting for life after being stabbed in the chest near the Hammers’ Upton Park ground.

Ron, of Ogmore-by-sea, near Bridgend, said: “We’ve had little scuffles before but nothing like this.

“They weren’t fans, I think they’d just come looking for trouble. Millwall and West Ham absolutely hate each other, they despise each other and it goes back a long time.”

Police intelligence officers and Lions’ and Hammers’ supporters knew trouble was likely to flare as the fierce rivals clashed for the first time since April 2005.

Ron opened The Queen’s pub on West Ham’s infamous Green Street – subject of a 2005 film on football hooligans starring Lord of the Rings actor Elijah Wood – at 11am.

“It was quiet until 5.15pm when they started drifting in. At 6pm it was really busy and by 6.30pm we were packed with about 500 people inside,” said Ron, who also runs the nearby Denmark Arms.

“There was a gang outside singing ‘We hate Millwall’, and they got louder and louder.

“The police appeared and the fans were giving loads of mouth to the coppers, standing and taunting them.

“When the Millwall train came in, the police cordoned it off, but the West Ham fans surged forward.

“A big gang came from the top. It looked as if they’d been phoned on the mobiles and the others said, ‘They’re here, let’s get them.’

“They were throwing bricks and bottles at the police and there were running battles for two hours – it was like a war zone.”

At 7pm, the Met Police asked Ron and his staff to stop serving and shut The Queen’s.

“If my staff were frightened they didn’t show it, but there was no way we were opening again at the end of the game,” said Ron.

When the pub closed, he and bar workers went into the street collecting smashed glasses, cans and bricks so hooligans could not use them as weapons when the match finished.

And for the first time in his 24 years running pubs in the English capital, Ron decided to board up his windows.

Twice during the evening scared supporters took refuge in The Queen’s, including a man carried in by police bleeding from a deep head wound and a pregnant woman and her husband who feared for their safety.

The night held little fear for Ron, but worried his wife Hazel, 69, who watched the violence unfold on news.

“She rang me up and said, ‘What have you done this time?’” said Ron, a grandfather of 14.

“I told her, ‘It wasn’t me this time!’

“Some of the pubs we’ve had before were a bit tasty – she used to call me John Wayne.

“There was a pub in Sydenham in south London where I had to throw out this chap who had been causing a lot of problems.

“As he went out, he put his hand through a window and cut his arm.

“He was walking down the road pouring blood and Hazel came back with a Chinese takeaway, saw me covered in blood and said, ‘Ron! Did you do that to him?’

“But Hazel’s quite happy these days sat at home looking at the sea and taking the dog for a walk.”

Ron, who previously ran pubs in Cardiff, Pencoed and Barry, was even bound and gagged during an armed robbery at his pub, The Greyhound in Wembley, five years ago.

“They climbed up the drain pipes and came through a window with a shotgun and baseball bats,” said Ron.

“They tied me and my staff up for 15 minutes and we gave them they keys for the safe, but we’d banked most of the money. They got away with about £2,000 and then left. We freed ourselves and called the police.”

Ron joked of his brushes with violence: “It keeps you young doesn’t it? Keeps the adrenalin flowing!”

Before last week’s scenes, which UK Sports Minister Gerry Sutcliffe branded “a disgrace to football”, Ron said the worst football-related violence he witnessed was when Cardiff City played West Ham five years ago.

He enjoys banter with the Hammers’ fans about his South Wales accent, adding; “They call me a ‘robbing Welsh b******’ and a ‘sheep s******’.

“I keep a pair of Wellington boots behind the bar and tell them to give it a go.

“But they know not to give me any proper stick because they know I’ve got a bit of a temper.”

Ron hoped the hooliganism that blighted Tuesday’s Carling Cup match, which West Ham won 3-1 in extra time, does not mark a return to the hooligan heyday of the 1970s and 1980s.

He added: “We’re a West Ham family pub, we aren’t used to this. I can’t see it ever going back to as bad as it was.”