Nine admit violence after Rangers' Uefa defeat

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 21:46

NINE football fans pleaded guilty yesterday to violence following Glasgow Rangers' Uefa Cup final defeat.

One man admitted assaulting a police officer and another man denied the charge, Greater Manchester Police said.

About 150,000 football fans were in Manchester for the Rangers game against Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium on 14 May last year.

A big screen for fans without a ticket failed in the early evening, triggering widespread disturbances.

Seven of the men who appeared before Manchester Crown Court pleaded guilty to single counts of violent disorder. They are Michael Hindle, 21, of Westmorland Close, and David Annette, 35, both from Chorley, Lancashire; David McCullough, 21, of Moorcroft Drive, Burnage, Manchester; Gordon Forrest, 45, of Ledi Drive, Bearsden, Glasgow; James Bell, 42, of Corrie View, Cumbernauld; Thomas Murphy, 28, of Flatterton Road, Greenock; and a 17-year-old boy from Glasgow who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Mark Stoddart, 25, of Westmuir Street, Glasgow, pleaded guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm against PC Mick Regan, and two offences of violent disorder. John Saunders, 30, of Fullarton Road, Cumbernauld, admitted two counts of violent disorder.

Scott McSeveney, 21, of Hunter Avenue, Shotts, Lanarkshire, denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm against PC John Goodwin, and a charge of violent disorder. He is due to go on trial on 15 March next year.

Brian McVicar, 29, and Greg McKenna, 22, both of Falkland Drive, East Kilbride, denied a charge of violent disorder and will go on trial on 17 May next year.

Sentencing of all defendants will take place after the trials at Manchester Crown Court have concluded.