Details continue to emerge of the job Greater Manchester Police had on Tuesday night in containing numerous Manchester united supporters’ ‘plans’ for the big game…
Maybe it was sporting confusion that led to some united fans taking darts and golf balls along to the first leg of the League Cup semi-final in Manchester. Maybe it was tradition, as we know similar was taken by travelling rags to Barnsley last October.
GMP’s Police Unit have confirmed that there were delays and congestion in getting united fans to their seats due to thorough security checks which led to the confiscation of the aforementioned sports equipment.
Toilets were trashed in the away concourse and seats ripped up sandwiched between the trouble that took place before and after the game. Even mobile phones were thrown inside the ground. There are many eyewitness accounts of the throwing of rocks, bottles and bricks outside the ground in clashes with City fans.
united fans managed to smuggle at least one red flare into the ground in a pisspoor bid to ruin City’s night match lights off Blue Moon build up. Manchester Coppers had been tipped off on that one and were able to bag the majority of the travelling support’s fireworks and flares.
Of course, numerous City fans cannot be excused in this mess for their part in the trouble but it’s clear that a large section of rags came to town intent on taking us back to the bad old days.
Outside of the confiscated missiles, GMP confirmed they had arrested 6 City fans and 11 united fans, plus one neutral.
In other forgettable events united’s Patrice Evra was hit on the hand with a lighter thrown from the stands echoing City’s Javier Garrido receiving a coin in the face at Old Trafford last September.
Evra was incensed enough at the end of united’s defeat to put his hand close to his chest facing the East Stand and give it the wankers gesture to the City fans.
No matter what happens, astronomically paid players from both sides in the modern era have a duty to rise above any provocation and not inflame trouble and that includes, Evra, Van der Sar, Tevez and Neville (yet again) who have all been mentioned in dispatches.
The accounts we’ve had in at VMC of the dogs, the police horses, the rioting, the terrified kids, one old bloke being kicked in and the absolute stupidity of releasing both sets of fans out of the stadium at the same time make for grim reading.
It’s understood that the Football Association and Football League intend to ‘monitor’ the return leg in Stretford next week, but in World Cup year, the embarrassment caused to the sport’s governing bodies will already have registered.
Next week’s return leg which will see at least 9,000 City fans in attendance will require more than monitoring.
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