witchy
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Manchester Police Report - videos included.
- Thread starter witchy
- Start date
UEFA Cup Final riot: The police lost control
May 16 2008 By Keith McLeod In Manchester
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/05/16/the-cops-lost-control-86908-20418966/
BEING on the wrong end of a full-scale charge by police in riot gear is not an experience I'll want to remember.
One minute the police had lined up, batons drawn and shields up, the next all hell broke loose.
The police charges seemed ad-hoc, ill-planned and badly co-ordinated.
One minute they drove fans in one direction, the next it was another.
This meant that innocent people who had little knowledge of what was going on became embroiled through no fault of their own.
Some, taken by surprise, were simply not fast enough to outrun the police, who brought in vans and dogs.
The trigger had been a small number of "fans" who goaded the police by going eye-to-eye with them or chucking a bottle.
And it was remarkable that almost none of the ringleaders wore club colours or spoke with a Scottish accent. There were, however, many English and Northern Irish accents.
However, no matter who was involved, the charge by the police was indiscriminate.
Anyone in their line of advance was a potential target, or so it seemed.
This meant that when the charge began, the first of a dozen when police frankly lost control of Manchester city centre, those fans who had provoked it scattered quickly, leaving innocents behind to deal with the consequences.
This was Piccadilly Gardens, the main fan zone in Manchester's showpiece UEFA Cup final celebration.
I can remember running back with my right hand up to protect myself from any baton blow.
People were being chased into a confined space with no obvious escape route.
Thankfully, the full-on police charge halted short of me and I escaped intact.
Others were not quite so lucky though. I saw baton blows being landed on heads. Maybe police were aiming for the upper arm but the blows did land on heads.
The next thing I saw was more clear cut. This time, three riot officers chased one man who fell to his knees next to the shutters of a shop.
Despite the fact he was down, a baton blow hit him square on the back, quickly followed by another.
The police officer who cuffed him saw fit to land three kicks to the kidney area. The next two hours were punctuated by similar charges where drunk hooligans went face to face with the police.
Each time more riot police were bussed in, the buses themselves along with police cars became immediate targets for bottles.
My colleague Craig McDonald was also caught up, though in a different area.
Several people had hit the deck and showed no sign of getting up any time soon.
Ambulances were allowed through the mob but police vans and cars were instant targets.
It was a good idea to crouch in a shop doorway or a nearby alley because there was no way of telling where the next missile was going to land.
I saw many people with head injuries and baying macho fronts on both sides. A small group of thugs were taunting the police to come forward, which they did at speed, some thumping their batons against their shields. As a bottle was thrown, one cop wearing helmet and visor chose to meet it with a headbutt.
As the chaos continued I saw elderly people trying to flee and mothers running with toddlers in their arms or in their chairs.
At one point, police bundled two Record photographers into a police van for their "own safety" - only for other police to force them out again seconds later.
Only when the police cleared out, leaving no target for the bottle throwers, did things calm down. Zenit fans mingled with Rangers fans with no inter-fan fighting.
We were shocked by the trouble but not surprised.
I was uneasy at 4pm on Wednesday.
I had arrived at Piccadilly Gardens and was even then concerned by the huge numbers on the streets.
Yes, it was a carnival atmosphere.
But there were too many people. Even at that stage there were too many, causing bottlenecks and potential for crushing.
As I made my way to another fan zone at Cathedral Gardens it dawned on me there were too many fans in the city as a whole.
Police and stewards were doing their best but there were not enough of them.
It struck me police had badly misjudged numbers of fans. There seemed to be double the anticipated 100,000.
Manchester City Council had told us they were used to huge sporting events and could cope.
Fan zones with a combined capacity of 22,000 just didn't stack up.
The trouble on the streets seemed to be sparked when a huge screen in the main fan zone broke down five minutes before kick-off. For 15 minutes, a sign on the screen said the link from the stadium was being repaired.
Then the screen went blank.
At this point, thousands of angry fans tried to get to the other big screens elsewhere in the city centre.
At first, police allowed access down Oldham Street. Then a line of riot police blocked the street off.
When aggressive riot police line up, it is highly intimidating. It seems to bring out aggressive and intimidating behaviour in people that way inclined.
The worst of the trouble began when the riot police arrived. It stopped when the riot police left.
May 16 2008 By Keith McLeod In Manchester
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/2008/05/16/the-cops-lost-control-86908-20418966/
BEING on the wrong end of a full-scale charge by police in riot gear is not an experience I'll want to remember.
One minute the police had lined up, batons drawn and shields up, the next all hell broke loose.
The police charges seemed ad-hoc, ill-planned and badly co-ordinated.
One minute they drove fans in one direction, the next it was another.
This meant that innocent people who had little knowledge of what was going on became embroiled through no fault of their own.
Some, taken by surprise, were simply not fast enough to outrun the police, who brought in vans and dogs.
The trigger had been a small number of "fans" who goaded the police by going eye-to-eye with them or chucking a bottle.
And it was remarkable that almost none of the ringleaders wore club colours or spoke with a Scottish accent. There were, however, many English and Northern Irish accents.
However, no matter who was involved, the charge by the police was indiscriminate.
Anyone in their line of advance was a potential target, or so it seemed.
This meant that when the charge began, the first of a dozen when police frankly lost control of Manchester city centre, those fans who had provoked it scattered quickly, leaving innocents behind to deal with the consequences.
This was Piccadilly Gardens, the main fan zone in Manchester's showpiece UEFA Cup final celebration.
I can remember running back with my right hand up to protect myself from any baton blow.
People were being chased into a confined space with no obvious escape route.
Thankfully, the full-on police charge halted short of me and I escaped intact.
Others were not quite so lucky though. I saw baton blows being landed on heads. Maybe police were aiming for the upper arm but the blows did land on heads.
The next thing I saw was more clear cut. This time, three riot officers chased one man who fell to his knees next to the shutters of a shop.
Despite the fact he was down, a baton blow hit him square on the back, quickly followed by another.
The police officer who cuffed him saw fit to land three kicks to the kidney area. The next two hours were punctuated by similar charges where drunk hooligans went face to face with the police.
Each time more riot police were bussed in, the buses themselves along with police cars became immediate targets for bottles.
My colleague Craig McDonald was also caught up, though in a different area.
Several people had hit the deck and showed no sign of getting up any time soon.
Ambulances were allowed through the mob but police vans and cars were instant targets.
It was a good idea to crouch in a shop doorway or a nearby alley because there was no way of telling where the next missile was going to land.
I saw many people with head injuries and baying macho fronts on both sides. A small group of thugs were taunting the police to come forward, which they did at speed, some thumping their batons against their shields. As a bottle was thrown, one cop wearing helmet and visor chose to meet it with a headbutt.
As the chaos continued I saw elderly people trying to flee and mothers running with toddlers in their arms or in their chairs.
At one point, police bundled two Record photographers into a police van for their "own safety" - only for other police to force them out again seconds later.
Only when the police cleared out, leaving no target for the bottle throwers, did things calm down. Zenit fans mingled with Rangers fans with no inter-fan fighting.
We were shocked by the trouble but not surprised.
I was uneasy at 4pm on Wednesday.
I had arrived at Piccadilly Gardens and was even then concerned by the huge numbers on the streets.
Yes, it was a carnival atmosphere.
But there were too many people. Even at that stage there were too many, causing bottlenecks and potential for crushing.
As I made my way to another fan zone at Cathedral Gardens it dawned on me there were too many fans in the city as a whole.
Police and stewards were doing their best but there were not enough of them.
It struck me police had badly misjudged numbers of fans. There seemed to be double the anticipated 100,000.
Manchester City Council had told us they were used to huge sporting events and could cope.
Fan zones with a combined capacity of 22,000 just didn't stack up.
The trouble on the streets seemed to be sparked when a huge screen in the main fan zone broke down five minutes before kick-off. For 15 minutes, a sign on the screen said the link from the stadium was being repaired.
Then the screen went blank.
At this point, thousands of angry fans tried to get to the other big screens elsewhere in the city centre.
At first, police allowed access down Oldham Street. Then a line of riot police blocked the street off.
When aggressive riot police line up, it is highly intimidating. It seems to bring out aggressive and intimidating behaviour in people that way inclined.
The worst of the trouble began when the riot police arrived. It stopped when the riot police left.
UEFA Cup Final riot: I was beaten by cops, says soldier
May 16 2008 By John Ferguson and Kevan Christie
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...s-beaten-by-cops-says-soldier-86908-20418962/
A SOLDIER told how he came home unscathed from a mission in Afghanistan - only to be beaten up in Manchester.
And Gregor Moffat described some of the scenes in the city as worse than a war zone.
Gregor, 43, of Dunfermline, said he suffered more injuries at the hands of Manchester riot police than he picked up in battle patrol.
He said: "It felt like I'd swapped one war zone for another.
"The police attacked me with their truncheons as I was bending down to pick up my Rangers hat.
"I think they must have thought I was going for a bottle.
"I've got a badly bruised leg and arm where they hit me."
Gregor, who serves with the Royal Logistics Corps, was among a group of fans who returned to Waverley Station in Edinburgh yesterday.
He said: "Manchester City Council have to take the majority of the blame for this.
"I think they bottled it because of the sheer numbers of Gers fans turning up and the rumour doing the rounds is that they deliberately turned off the big screen, as they couldn't control the crowd.
"I'm not condoning the behaviour of some of our fans who clearly had too much to drink.
"It's such a shame the whole trip was a bit shambolic."
Other Rangers fans have reacted furiously to accusations they were responsible for the orgy of violence.
Fifteen officers were injured, plus a police dog, and 42 arrests were made as hundreds of riot police and fans fought running battles.
Supporters returning to Glasgow claimed bungles by police, council officials, transport chiefs and security guards sparked the mayhem.
Jobless Gordie Miller, 49, from Hamilton, went to the game with four pals, staying in Blackpool.
He said: "It took us four hours to get to Manchester. When we finally got there, we had a couple of pints and headed for the fan zone at Piccadilly Gardens.
"It was before the kick-off but the police already had the dogs out and they were barking and growling at us as we walked down.
"I threw a dog a bit of my fish supper and the policeman holding it said, 'What are you doing, you f*****g w****r'.
"Things just went from bad to worse. We didn't even get to see the game and ended up trying to get the train back to Blackpool.
"It was utter pandemonium. I can't believe someone wasn't killed.
"People were being brutalised. It was a complete disgrace. I am not defending a minority of Rangers fans who obviously did cause trouble but I think we were let down by everyone."
Jason Stalker, 23, of Glasgow, said: "I think that the worst people there were the Rock Steady security guards who seemed intent on winding up fans.
"When trouble did start, the police were just beating people indiscriminately. Fans were terrified."
Coach driver George Jamison, 36, of Derby, was at the game with his mum Jean Innes, 58, of Fort William.
He said: "The Manchester police were an absolute disgrace.
"They are complete b******s, in my eyes now. I was hit by a policeman with a baton and all I was doing was trying to get to my bus.
"I am part of the official Rangers Travel Club and I have never seen anything like it. Riot cops were letting dogs loose on the fans and hitting people."
Arthur Harkin, 36, a crane driver from Bellshill, said: "The police and the Rock Steady security guards are to blame.
"The security guards were demanding cash from people to let them into a free fan zone.
"They were treating Rangers supporters like dirt and so were the police. In the end, they provoked too many people for trouble not to have started."
Mum-of-one Frances Clelland, 47, of Blantyre, Lanarkshire, was with nine pals and ended up in Piccadilly Gardens.
She said: "They didn't tell us until after the game had started that the big screen wasn't working.
"The police had been hemming us in until then, not even letting us out to get to the toilet.
"People were being crushed and scuffles started breaking out between fans.
"I was terrified and the next thing I knew, there were riot police everywhere and the place just erupted.
"Fans who went down to watch this game were completely let down by the police and by the council in Manchester.
"If they had told us earlier that the big screen was broken, rather than after the game had started, we would have been in a position to get somewhere else in an orderly fashion.
"As it was, everyone was panicking and getting upset. Then the heavyhanded police moved in and really cranked up the violence."
Handyman Dennis Herraghty, 40, a Rangers fan, of Darlington, County Durham, said: "The police caused this whole thing. It was a complete disgrace. I will never go back to Manchester again.
"The majority of Rangers fans were not causing trouble. They were terrified and trying to avoid trouble.
"I have never seen such brutality coming from police in all my life."
HGV driver Neil Sherrington, 46, of Glasgow, was at the game.
He said: "I was on the streets before the trouble started. There was just no control over what was happening.
"A minority have caused trouble but bad organisation was definitely to blame for the way that things turned out."
The dad-of-two added: "The police are saying that they did the best they could but they could have done a lot better if you ask me."
John Skelton, 70, of Warrington, Cheshire, was in Manchester to go to the theatre.
He said: "I walked by thousands of Rangers fans and they caused no problems whatsoever.
"It is a shame pictures on the TV are making them all out to be thugs."
Meanwhile, internet discussion forums and the Record's website were yesterday inundated by Gers fans discussing the violence.
The majority of messages were from fans disgusted by Manchester police.
One message posted on the Record website said: "I cannot condone the actions of the Rangers fans in Manchester but I can understand how it all kicked off.
"Manchester was well warned that there was going to be a mass invasion from north of the Border and as such should have been better prepared.
"I was in Piccadilly Gardens from around one o'clock and the atmosphere was amazing, a real carnival, friendly atmosphere. There was banter between Rangers and Zenit fans that were mingling in the crowds together.
"No one can condone the actions by the Rangers support when it all started to go wrong.
"But surely a lot of the blame lies with the event organisers."
May 16 2008 By John Ferguson and Kevan Christie
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/s...s-beaten-by-cops-says-soldier-86908-20418962/
A SOLDIER told how he came home unscathed from a mission in Afghanistan - only to be beaten up in Manchester.
And Gregor Moffat described some of the scenes in the city as worse than a war zone.
Gregor, 43, of Dunfermline, said he suffered more injuries at the hands of Manchester riot police than he picked up in battle patrol.
He said: "It felt like I'd swapped one war zone for another.
"The police attacked me with their truncheons as I was bending down to pick up my Rangers hat.
"I think they must have thought I was going for a bottle.
"I've got a badly bruised leg and arm where they hit me."
Gregor, who serves with the Royal Logistics Corps, was among a group of fans who returned to Waverley Station in Edinburgh yesterday.
He said: "Manchester City Council have to take the majority of the blame for this.
"I think they bottled it because of the sheer numbers of Gers fans turning up and the rumour doing the rounds is that they deliberately turned off the big screen, as they couldn't control the crowd.
"I'm not condoning the behaviour of some of our fans who clearly had too much to drink.
"It's such a shame the whole trip was a bit shambolic."
Other Rangers fans have reacted furiously to accusations they were responsible for the orgy of violence.
Fifteen officers were injured, plus a police dog, and 42 arrests were made as hundreds of riot police and fans fought running battles.
Supporters returning to Glasgow claimed bungles by police, council officials, transport chiefs and security guards sparked the mayhem.
Jobless Gordie Miller, 49, from Hamilton, went to the game with four pals, staying in Blackpool.
He said: "It took us four hours to get to Manchester. When we finally got there, we had a couple of pints and headed for the fan zone at Piccadilly Gardens.
"It was before the kick-off but the police already had the dogs out and they were barking and growling at us as we walked down.
"I threw a dog a bit of my fish supper and the policeman holding it said, 'What are you doing, you f*****g w****r'.
"Things just went from bad to worse. We didn't even get to see the game and ended up trying to get the train back to Blackpool.
"It was utter pandemonium. I can't believe someone wasn't killed.
"People were being brutalised. It was a complete disgrace. I am not defending a minority of Rangers fans who obviously did cause trouble but I think we were let down by everyone."
Jason Stalker, 23, of Glasgow, said: "I think that the worst people there were the Rock Steady security guards who seemed intent on winding up fans.
"When trouble did start, the police were just beating people indiscriminately. Fans were terrified."
Coach driver George Jamison, 36, of Derby, was at the game with his mum Jean Innes, 58, of Fort William.
He said: "The Manchester police were an absolute disgrace.
"They are complete b******s, in my eyes now. I was hit by a policeman with a baton and all I was doing was trying to get to my bus.
"I am part of the official Rangers Travel Club and I have never seen anything like it. Riot cops were letting dogs loose on the fans and hitting people."
Arthur Harkin, 36, a crane driver from Bellshill, said: "The police and the Rock Steady security guards are to blame.
"The security guards were demanding cash from people to let them into a free fan zone.
"They were treating Rangers supporters like dirt and so were the police. In the end, they provoked too many people for trouble not to have started."
Mum-of-one Frances Clelland, 47, of Blantyre, Lanarkshire, was with nine pals and ended up in Piccadilly Gardens.
She said: "They didn't tell us until after the game had started that the big screen wasn't working.
"The police had been hemming us in until then, not even letting us out to get to the toilet.
"People were being crushed and scuffles started breaking out between fans.
"I was terrified and the next thing I knew, there were riot police everywhere and the place just erupted.
"Fans who went down to watch this game were completely let down by the police and by the council in Manchester.
"If they had told us earlier that the big screen was broken, rather than after the game had started, we would have been in a position to get somewhere else in an orderly fashion.
"As it was, everyone was panicking and getting upset. Then the heavyhanded police moved in and really cranked up the violence."
Handyman Dennis Herraghty, 40, a Rangers fan, of Darlington, County Durham, said: "The police caused this whole thing. It was a complete disgrace. I will never go back to Manchester again.
"The majority of Rangers fans were not causing trouble. They were terrified and trying to avoid trouble.
"I have never seen such brutality coming from police in all my life."
HGV driver Neil Sherrington, 46, of Glasgow, was at the game.
He said: "I was on the streets before the trouble started. There was just no control over what was happening.
"A minority have caused trouble but bad organisation was definitely to blame for the way that things turned out."
The dad-of-two added: "The police are saying that they did the best they could but they could have done a lot better if you ask me."
John Skelton, 70, of Warrington, Cheshire, was in Manchester to go to the theatre.
He said: "I walked by thousands of Rangers fans and they caused no problems whatsoever.
"It is a shame pictures on the TV are making them all out to be thugs."
Meanwhile, internet discussion forums and the Record's website were yesterday inundated by Gers fans discussing the violence.
The majority of messages were from fans disgusted by Manchester police.
One message posted on the Record website said: "I cannot condone the actions of the Rangers fans in Manchester but I can understand how it all kicked off.
"Manchester was well warned that there was going to be a mass invasion from north of the Border and as such should have been better prepared.
"I was in Piccadilly Gardens from around one o'clock and the atmosphere was amazing, a real carnival, friendly atmosphere. There was banter between Rangers and Zenit fans that were mingling in the crowds together.
"No one can condone the actions by the Rangers support when it all started to go wrong.
"But surely a lot of the blame lies with the event organisers."
countryboy
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lol@witchy . didnt you know that they are all alter boys lol
Scotlands shame do it again?... lol c'mon
I know it was a really bad thing that happend but time to let the athorities deal with it and not give in to idiots who feck it up for other people they are not worth wasting any more time on.
scottish football lost a really good guy this week who had the right idea family first faith second (but never ever tried to influence others with his beliefs) football third.
he hated bigots and could spot an idiot a mile off no matter if he wore green and white or red white and blue. this world would be a lot better if there were more like him.
witchy
Banned for good!
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I'm listening to Real Radio, the live phone-in is on and I'm gobsmacked at some of the horror stories innocent Rangers fans are telling, absolutely disgusting behaviour by the police, complete and utter chaos. I really feel for the Fans.
99.9% of the fans were brilliant, well done guys, but that 0.1% have done a lot of damage.
@ V14, mate that guy in the top picture looks lie a demon!, lol
99.9% of the fans were brilliant, well done guys, but that 0.1% have done a lot of damage.
@ V14, mate that guy in the top picture looks lie a demon!, lol
jaffa
Inactive User
Ofcourse he is, look at his eyes
You are spot on witchy...they are not crossed....
roud:You are spot on witchy...they are not crossed....
it's the teddy bears no the nookie bears
Weeshed, everyone knows that Marty Feldman was the Rangers Mascot before Broxy Bear.
thats just sick.. marty feldman had an recognised inherited condition.
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he was a tim :BLOBBY:
seriously though look at this clip.
it doesnt look like a riot ... looks like a bunch of folk wandering about going WTF?
but watch the guy on the right of the screen in the No 11 jersey at 27 seconds.. fookin spark oot or what
[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=fsjF5Wcdbf4[/ame]
then watch the guy in the light blue shirt and chinos ...what is he up to?
it doesnt look like a riot ... looks like a bunch of folk wandering about going WTF?
but watch the guy on the right of the screen in the No 11 jersey at 27 seconds.. fookin spark oot or what
[ame]http://youtube.com/watch?v=fsjF5Wcdbf4[/ame]
then watch the guy in the light blue shirt and chinos ...what is he up to?
Last edited:
jaffa
Inactive User
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