Hooligans

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CATANIA, Sicily (AP) -- A police officer was killed Friday when fans rioted at a Serie A game between Sicilian sides Catania and Palermo, prompting the Italian soccer federation to suspend all league matches in the country's top two divisions this weekend. Fans rioted outside Catania's Angelo Massimino stadium during the second half. Police fired tear gas, which wafted into the stadium and forced the match to be temporarily suspended in the 58th minute with Palermo leading 1-0. Police said the officer died after an explosive device was thrown inside his vehicle.

The violence continued after the game, in which Palermo beat Catania 2-1, trapping hundreds of fans inside the stadium as authorities sought to avoid further violence and stop people from leaving. Federation (FIGC) commissioner Luca Pancalli called an emergency meeting in Rome late Friday, and announced he was canceling all games, the federation said. "The decision to block the championships was immediate," Pancalli told a news conference after the meeting. "We cannot continue like this. What we're witnessing has nothing to do with soccer, therefore Italian soccer is stopping." He added that the decision to stop the games for the duration of the weekend was not enough, and said there would be more meetings Monday "to identify those drastic measures that will allow us to restart. Otherwise, we're not restarting the games."

The FIGC also cancelled the Wednesday friendly between Italy and Romania and an under-21 friendly scheduled for Tuesday against Belgium. The federation said that another police officer was in critical condition, and police said dozens of people with lesser injuries had been taken to local hospitals. Police defended security measures at the game.

"We're talking about incidents that happened outside the stadium and after the game had already started," Police Cmdr. Piero Gambuzza told Sky TG24 News. "Police did not allow anyone with explosives to enter the stadium."

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MAN UNITED FANS IN HOSPITAL AFTER CLASH
Paul Byrne In Rome And Tom Pettifor 05/04/2007

ELEVEN Manchester United fans were in hospital last night - many with stab wounds - after horrific violence marred their Champions League game in Rome. Most were hurt in sickening pre-match clashes with Roma's notorious soccer thugs - including one United fan with a serious knife neck wound. Several were also injured when riot police waded into them with batons and CS gas inside the ground.

Trouble erupted on the terraces shortly before half-time and soon after United midfielder Paul Scholes was sent off. Rival supporters hurled bottles and seats at one another. One English fan said: "People started throwing things, then all hell broke loose. Suddenly the police charged and they were taking no prisoners."

BBC Five Live commentator Alan Green said: "It got vicious. We heard a loud crash and there was smoke rising. It was very, very nasty. I don't know if Roma fans started this, but they are happy now as it is between police and United fans." Riot officers had stormed into the section of the Olympic Stadium holding 4,500 United followers. Blood poured from the heads of two fans smashed with batons.

Earlier in the week the Premiership giants had warned followers to beware attacks from Roma's Ultra yobs. Apart from those in hospital, 17 other English supporters were hurt before kick-off. At one stage 600 fans fought running battles by the River Tiber. Police say those in hospital had "various injuries". All were due to be released today.

After the game, which Roma won 2-1, soccer chiefs Uefa announced a probe. United - fined over their fans' unrest at a match in Lens, France, last month - may also be in trouble. Uefa's William Gaillard said: "We will also have to see what role their fans had in the incidents because they had some problems in Lens."

Were you caught up in the violence? If so, call our newsdesk on 020 7293 3831.

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Sounds like Italy has a pretty bad problem with the hooligans just now....

I've changed the title of this thread to Football Violence and if you see any other stories regarding it from anywhere else, please post them in this thread...

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West Ham fans riot in Sicily
B Hatchett and L Haulkham 29th of September 2006
Thursday night saw football hooliganism take place on the streets of Sicily when more than 500 supporters came together around midnight. The West Ham fans, who had just seen their team lose 3.0 to the Italian club, were said to have been seen outside pubs shouting abuse to the Palermo supporters as they walked by. After the fighting had taken place, it took 50 police officers, dressed in riot clothing, to calm the situation. 17 people left the scene with minor injuries, with 6 of those being police, 6 being english fans and the other 5 were palermo fans. The police arrested 21 citizens with 20 of those being english. Both sets of fans were armed with bottles, cans, glasses and chairs. These 20 englishmen and the only Italian fan will today appear before an Itailian court following their arrest.

It is thought that the trouble really started two weeks ago when the West Ham supporters wore shirts that read: "The Hammers v The mafia." Nearly 2500 West Ham fans travelled to Italy for the second leg tie. A police spokesperson said extra security was in place for last nights game. He added "The clashes were in the city centre between two groups of fans which left the streets covered with glass. It was a huge battle that took more than a hour to control."

Authorities in Britain are expected to set banning orders on the fans found to be guilty of causing the trouble on the Sicily streets. A Scotland yard spokesman said: "Officers have travelled to Palermo to work with he Italian authorities in relation to the game featuring West Ham United FC"

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This is a report from September last year, but I thought it was very relevant considering it's Palermo fans again... they sound like a right bunch of bastards!

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I'm watching the Seville - Tottenham match just now and have just seen Tottenham fans being battered by the Spanish riot police... I've got some clips, so I'll post them in a bit.

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RANGERS OFFER LINK OVER ROME RIOT
By David Mccarthy

RANGERS fans want to join forces with Manchester United supporters to force UEFA to act on the police brutality they've encountered on foreign soil in the last month. Horrific pictures of United fans being battered senseless by riot cops in Rome's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday night mirrored the scenes in Pamplona on March 14 when Spanish police waded into the Rangers support with batons during their UEFA Cup tie. UEFA are investigating those events but Rangers fans'chiefs fear a whitewash. Now they want to meet their Old Trafford counterparts in an attempt to force UEFA to offer them more protection when they travel abroad.

Rangers Supporters' Trust yesterday wrote to Manchester United Supporters' Trust and the Independent Manchester United Supporters' Association offering them their dossier on the poor policing they encountered in Stuttgart, Bratislava, Villarreal and Pamplona in the last two seasons.

Rangers Trust spokesman Stephen Smith said: "Our primary concern is that a supporter gets badly hurt or even killed. There is a serious problem here and it's something UEFA have to sort out. You can't have a situation where supporters are being arbitrarily battered by the police. We're talking about random, unprovoked violence - which was the same in Pamplona for the Rangers fans. UEFA'spriorities are back to front. Clubs are fined heavily for minor rule infractions, yet UEFA allow clubs to participate in their competitions with sub-standard stadia, inadequate stewarding, poor segregation and policed in a way which would embarrass a dictatorship. Outside the UK, too many clubs and police forces are simply out of their depth when dealing with clubs like Rangers and Manchester United whose fans travel in large numbers."

United fans are likely to accept the Rangers offer of help in their fight with UEFA. Independent Supporters' Association spokesman Mark Longden said: "It's time for decisive action and if UEFA don't take it I truly believe someone will get killed."

Cleveland Police Authority chief David McLuckie was in Rome's Olympic Stadium last season when Middlesbrough beat Roma in the UEFA Cup and witnessed acts of sustained violence by police. Following the scenes in Rome he called for the British Government to intervene. McLuckie said: "The pictures tell no lies - there were some fans lying on the floor virtually unconscious and unable to pose any fur the rthreat and they were still being beaten by the police . "It's time for the Government to step in and say to the Italian authorities, 'this is not good enough'. It is time for UEFA and FIFA to ban Italian clubs from European and international competitions until they prove they've got their act together."

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now there's a strange link-up... it's good to know that genuine Rangers fans are reaching out though.

[Colston]

I´m sat in a cafe in Malaga after catching the train back from Seville where I witnessed the most awful Police brutality at the Seville-Tottenham match last night.

Robocoppers used batons indescriminately to hit women, children and a disabled man in a wheelchair.

All this on the back of no provocation.

I am so much more than appaled.

[Colston]

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Eleven held in football violence

Eleven people have been arrested after up to 100 football hooligans were involved in a brawl in Coventry. Police believe the violence which flared in Earlsdon High Street - six miles from Coventry City's Ricoh Arena - was pre-arranged. Witnesses reported seeing men on mobile phones shortly before trouble broke out, hours before Coventry's match with Leicester City.

Knives were seized by the police and one man suffered minor head injuries. A police spokesman said CCTV footage of the incident, which happened at 1130 GMT, was also being studied.

Witnesses described "hordes" of men spreading out across the street and throwing bricks at each other. One eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: "We've never had anything like this before in this area. I saw a load of men, probably in their 50s, on phones and it was obvious they were planning something, then it all kicked off. The police moved in swiftly but we've got absolutely no idea why it happened here." Another said: "One came up to us with blood on his knuckles and asked if we had a local cab number, so we told the police to go and get him."

Although Earlsdon, a pleasant residential suburb, is miles from Coventry's ground, it is within walking distance of the city's main railway station and would have once been used by fans travelling to the old Highfield Road ground.

Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hyde of West Midlands Police said: "This was a determined effort to cause violence and our response has been swift. It does emphasise the need for extra police resources on match days and in and around football grounds. It is very unusual for disorder to break out in the Earlsdon area, and all indications at the moment suggest that the violence was planned. While the majority of football fans are law abiding, police will deal robustly with the minority intent on causing violence and disorder."

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One man had a minor head injury? They're hard as hell this lot!

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Violence breaks out between hundreds of West Ham and Millwall fans in 'large-scale' riot at game
25th August 2009

A man has been stabbed and violent battles have broken out between rival West Ham and Millwall football fans in a 'planned large-scale' riot at the game. Hundreds of fans are involved in the disorder which police said was caused by people without tickets who had intended to start trouble at the Carling Cup game between the two London sides taking place at Upton Park in east London.

Pockets of violence also spread to inside the ground where some supporters made it on to the pitch.The game was temporarily suspended during extra time which is currently being played after the game finished 1-1 as stewards and police tried to regain control. Police said the stabbing, in Priory Road close to the stadium, is connected to the fighting and the man is being treated by paramedics.

Onlookers said Green Street, close to the ground, was filled with several hundred West Ham and Millwall fans before the match. They said bottles and bricks started being hurled shortly after 6pm. A 29-year-old man, who runs a kebab shop in Green Street said: 'All hell broke loose, it was very frightening. It's not every day you see stuff like that. There were West Ham fans on one side and Millwall on the other. They were being kept apart by the police. There were West Ham fans for as far as you could see along the street. Bottles and bricks were being thrown from the back and some were hitting West Ham fans at the front. There were loads of people with blooded faces.' He said he closed his shop for two hours as the violence flared. He added that the clashes continued after the match kicked off. Another man, aged 19 but who did not want to be named, said: 'People were chipping bricks off buildings and throwing them at police. I saw one officer getting kicked as he was on the ground.'

About 50 police officers in riot gear congregated outside Upton Park tube station as they waited for the final whistle. Several hundred fans were seen leaving the match before the game ended. Inside the stadium stewards and police tried to keep the two sets of fans apart as rival fans taunted one another as news of the fighting outside filtered through.

A spokesman for Metropolitan Police said more officers were being sent to the scene. 'There is large-scale trouble involving hundreds of fans which we are dealing with at the moment,' he added. A number of arrests have already been made for disorder and breaches of banning orders.

On the Millwall Independent Supporters Association website fans were tonight discussing the reports of violence. ne fan, calling himself Uwe said: "Already this is turning into the biggest shitstorm for a while. Hopefully it won't fuck the club too much. Met have made their own bed by not giving us the tickets and then saying trouble was caused by 'ticketless supporters'."

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that guy in second photo is 'Inglander of the Year 2009' if my vote's worth anything!

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Scotland Yard's 'wanted' pictures of hooligans at a West Ham / Millwall game, which include images from the football film The Firm (circled)
Police apologise after including actors on 'wanted' posters of football hooligans
31st October 2009

Police 'wanted' pictures of suspected hooligans issued after rioting broke out at a match included images of actors from a hit film, it emerged today.

Scotland Yard sent out 66 pictures of people supposedly caught on camera during violent clashes at a West Ham game with Millwall this summer. But they blundered by including stills of six actors from the recent hooligan-themed film The Firm. The error was described by Yard insiders as a 'bad day at the office' for those responsible. The Metropolitan Police have now been forced to say sorry for the error, and have apologised unreservedly.

Police used a Sky TV report to capture images of fans fighting at the Carling Cup clash in August. But it appears that because the officers turned off the sound from the report, they failed to realise it included footage from the movie. Among the actors who faces were swept up among those at the match and issued to media on Wednesday was Paul Anderson, who plays Bex in the film.

Scotland Yard said: 'Six images in individuals who were not involved in the violence were mistakenly included. These images appear to have been taken from a motion picture. We wish to apologise unreservedly to those affected. We are going to be actively trying to contact those people to offer our apologies.'

A 43-year-old Millwall supporter was stabbed during the violence in and around West Ham's Upton Park ground on August 25. Police have so far arrested more than 40 people in relation to the clashes.

The Firm, which was released last month, is set in football hooligan's 1908s heyday and is about a young man who joins a 'firm' of thugs. Vertigo Films, which made the movie, told The Sun: 'We are delighted our scenes are so realistic people can't tell the difference between them and real events.'

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"because the officers turned off the sound from the report, they failed to realise it included footage from the movie."

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Fan dressed as sheep set alight
Some reports said many fans were dressed as sheep on the train
1st November 2009

A 24-year-old football fan dressed as a sheep suffered serious burns to his arms and legs when he was set alight on a train in Fife. Aberdeen fans said the man ran through the carriage on fire as others threw beer on him to douse the flames.

The Edinburgh to Aberdeen service was stopped at Kirkcaldy at about 1900 GMT on Saturday to allow him to be treated. British Transport Police said one man was arrested and another was assisting the police with their inquiries. A second man is reported to have suffered slight injuries.

The train was carrying Aberdeen football supporters back home after their side's match against Hibs in Edinburgh. It is understood a number of the fans at the match and on the train were dressed as sheep. The train involved, an Arriva cross-country train, was the 1808 GMT service from Edinburgh to Aberdeen.

The fan who suffered burns is said to be in a serious but stable condition in hospital in Kirkcaldy. British Transport Police said a 23-year-old man had been arrested and was expected to appear at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court on Monday. The spokesman added: "British Transport Police are treating the incident very seriously."

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They doused him with lager to put out the fire? Mint sauce is what they should have used!

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CCTV catches £100k-a-year German football thug leading riot
Nov 1 2009
Norman Silvester
sundaymail.co.uk

A TOP finance expert led a brutal attack by hundreds of German football thugs on three Scots police officers. The Sunday Mail can reveal details of the shocking riot led by Hamburg hooligan ringleader Rene Wurzbach. The 32-year-old graduate assaulted and injured three cops as his 300-strong mob rampaged through Glasgow city centre.

CCTV footage shows shaven-headed Wurzbach running at police officers at the head of a baying column of Hamburg supporters. He viciously kicks a female constable before lashing a punch at a male colleague and then kicking another officer. Details of the riot led by high-flyer Wurzbach will shock the German financial sector, where he earns more than £100,000 a year as a management consultant.

Wurzbach was arrested and held in a cell before Hamburg's Europa league match with Celtic at Parkhead 11 days ago. But he was freed after a sheriff said it was not feasible to get background reports on him and that she would be unable to take into consideration any previous crimes he had committed in Germany. Wurzbach paid his entire £1600 fine on the spot by credit card at Glasgow Sheriff Court on Thursday. A police source said: "This is the kind of hooligan riot which the public remain unaware of - unless they are unlucky enough to be caught up in it."

There was a terrifying mob mentality as the hooligans ran through the streets in the early evening. The footage shows how, without warning, Wurzbach suddenly leads a charge along Parnie Street in the Merchant City, near to busy Argyle Street. The terrified driver of a Honda desperately tries to reverse to avoid the mob. Then boozed-up Wurzbach turns his venom on police officers and viciously boots PC Kirsty Scrimgeour. Without breaking stride, he punches a second constable, Campbell Kyle, and then kicks his boss, Chief Inspector Anthony O'Donnell, between the legs. A fourth officer tries to hit him with his stick before he runs off.

Wurzbach was later arrested and spent a week in Barlinnie Prison before appearing at the city's sheriff court. The German - who speaks fluent English - admitted three police assaults and a charge of breach of the peace. Two of the officers had to take time off work to recover from their injuries. Wurzbach's work takes him all over Germany, Austria and Russia to the offices of his wealthy corporate clients. He flies business class at their expense and advises them on financial and management matters.

On an internet website entry, he claims to work for BearingPoint, an American multi-national management consultancy company who sponsored American golfer Phil Mickelson. However, at weekends and while on trips abroad to see his club play matches, he swaps his pinstripe suit for denims and hooded Hamburg FC tops.

Sheriff Celia Sanderson told him: "We have enough football thugs here without you behaving in an appalling manner. You were almost a ringleader. You were inciting a crowd and assaulted three police officers badly. I have not had a record of previous convictions provided, so I have to treat you as a first offender. If I were to consider jail, I would have had to have obtained a report but I do not consider that feasible, as you are a German national. If you do not pay, then you will be given the alternative, which is jail."

The thug - still wearing the same Hamburg FC jacket that he was arrested in - made no comment as he left after the hearing. The court heard that the German fans had been spotted on Glasgow Bridge, at the bottom of Jamaica Street, en-route to Celtic Park. Police were forced to move in as they became concerned the drunken mob could start trouble.

As the riot broke out around Parnie Street, various incidents were caught on CCTV cameras. After he was shown the film, Wurzbach decided to plead guilty. The police source said: "He was out of control and looking for trouble. He did not seem to care who he was hitting. Assaulting police officers doing their job is bad enough but to strike a female constable like that is shocking. It really made you wince. Wurzbach has brought shame upon his country and is very lucky that he is free to return so soon. After he had sobered up, he was very contrite and seemed worried he would lose his job if he was jailed."

Wurzbach's lawyer, Jason Beltrami, of Beltrami Berlow, said his client could not remember assaulting the officers and that he realised that he had "done wrong". A spokesman for Bearing-Point said yesterday: "For reasons of confidentiality, we do not confirm employment of any individual or disclose any individualrelated information." Assistant Chief Constable Fiona Taylor said: "Fortunately the officers were not seriously hurt and have since returned to operational duties. It is, however, absolutely unnacceptable for police officers to be assaulted in the course of their duties and we will vigorously pursue any offender who causes such injury to our staff."

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Woman sues Toyota over 'terrifying' emails from fake football hooligan
A woman is suing Toyota for "terrorising" her with emails purporting to come from an English football hooligan who wanted to hide from police in her house.
By Matthew Moore
16 Oct 2009

Amber Duick claims that she was so scared by the bizarre marketing campaign that she was forced to sleep with a machete beneath her bed. She is now claiming more than $10 million in compensation from the Japanese car maker for "stalking" her with fake emails over five days last year.

The messages from the fictional hooligan, Sebastian Bowler, included claims that he knew where she lived and intended to stay at her house when he went on the run. "Amber mate! Coming 2 Los Angeles. Gonna lay low at your place for a bit till it all blows over," one email read. They also contained links to a hoax MySpace page set up under Bowler's name that included a photo of his pit bull terrier Trigger and a blurry of image showing him among a crowd of England football fans before a riot.

The adverts were part of an "edgy" campaign for Toyota's new Matrix model dreamed up by the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency, in which members of the public were encouraged to nominate a friend to be pranked by unsettling emails. "Pick one of our maniacs to mess with their heads for five straight days while you sit back and watch it all go down," a video released to promote the campaign urged.

Toyota is contesting the lawsuit, which has been lodged in Mrs Duick's home city of Los Angeles, on the grounds that she signed an online form giving her consent to take part in the the campaign. "The person who made this claim specifically opted in, granting her permission to receive campaign emails and other communications from Toyota," a spokesman told ABC News. But Mrs Duick's legal team said that she never knew that she would be subjected to such a traumatic ordeal, which affected her ability to work.

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Rangers fans showing off their social skills tonight in Bucharest. Apparently that spray was deodorant and that's why they ran off so quick!

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Oldbury man launches new WBA football hooligan book

http://www.halesowennews.co.uk/news/4730190.Oldbury_man_launches_new_WBA_football_hooligan_book/