UK NEWS

HOOLIGANS’ £1.5M RAMPAGE

Manchester left in a mess after violence erupted

Friday May 16,2008

By Paul Broster

Rampaging Rangers football fans were branded a disgrace yesterday as CCTV footage revealed the sickening extent of their violence in Manchester.

Tapes showed 20 yobs at one point kicking an isolated officer on the ground and breaking his arm after tripping him up.

Police said the thugs had set upon him “like a pack of wolves” and security cameras also caught hundreds of hooligans chasing seven riot police down a city centre street.

Officers set police dogs on the yobs in running street battles that lasted for more than three hours.

As city authorities began their £1.5million clean-up the prime minister Gordon Brown, called the fans a disgrace and added: “This was completely unacceptable.”

Fourteen other officers were hurt as violence erupted during and after the Glasgow team’s 2-0 defeat in the UEFA cup final at Manchester City’s Eastlands stadium.

One officer was hit so hard his radio earpiece had to be removed by doctors. Another lost front teeth from a headbutt.

Ambulance crews were threatened as they raced to help the injured.

One fan of Rangers’ Russian opponents, Zenit St Petersburg, was stabbed but is expected to recover.

Around 100,000 ticketless fans headed to Manchester on Wednesday, many drinking alcohol all day. Trouble began when one of eight giant screens due to show the match broke down 15 minutes before kick-off.

Forty-two people were arrested for offences including assault and violent disorder while 21 people were also arrested for public order offences at Rangers’ Ibrox stadium, which also screened the match.