Rangers riot police 'never saw such ferocity'

Published on Thursday 2 September 2010 17:43

What should have been a "celebration of football" ended in mayhem and violence as Rangers hooligans went on the rampage on one of the biggest nights in the club's history, a court heard yesterday.

Riot police fought hand-to-hand running battles with hundreds of drunken fans of the Scottish champions, who showered officers with bottles and other missiles, Manchester Crown Court was told.

The violence was captured on CCTV footage and shown to the court as 12 men sat in the dock awaiting sentence for their part in the trouble in the city as it hosted the Uefa Cup Final in May 2008.

A number of defendants had brought bags and suitcases, piled up at the back of the dock, expecting to be going to jail. All will be sentenced today.

They were arrested after police publicised footage of the hours of violence during and after the club's 2-0 defeat to Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium.

An estimated 125,000 Rangers fans, most without tickets, descended on the city, drinking pubs and supermarkets dry, the court heard.

But trouble erupted at a fan zone after a giant screen in the city centre failed close to kick-off time.

Ricky Holland, prosecuting, said the game was prestigious and intended to be a "celebration of football".

"The vast majority were well behaved, there is numerous instances, discernible from the footage and statements from police officers, of other Glasgow Rangers supporters trying to curb the disorderly behaviour of other people, caught up in this," he said.

"So by no means was everyone who came to Manchester that day intent on committing mayhem, but that was ultimately what the city was subjected to."

Mr Holland said three fan zones with giant screens were set up by Manchester City Council to accommodate ticketless fans who swamped the city.

He added: "There was copious amounts of drink already taken, large amounts, a number of public houses simply ran out of alcohol, supermarkets and the like managed to sell all their wares."

But when the big screen put up in Piccadilly Gardens failed, trouble erupted among the 8,000 fans assembled there.

Engineers tryng to fix the problem were pelted with bottles, causing 300,000 damage to the screen, the court heard.

"Various disgruntled supporters began to vent their frustration on property and police," Mr Holland added.

He told the court riot police had never encountered scenes of such "ferocity and intensity" He added: "It is difficult to recall anything on the scale of what took place here."

Police later trawled through hours of CCTV footage to identify the culprits, leading to the arrest of the 12 in the dock.

All the defendants face charges of either violent disorder or assaulting a police officer and will be sentenced today.

They are: Michael Hindle, 22, of Leyland, Lancashire; Gordon Forrest, 36, of Ledi Drive, Bearsden; Thomas Murphy, 28, of Flatterton Road, Greenock; John Saunders, 32, of Fullarton Road, Cumbernauld; Mark Stoddart, 26, of Westmuir Street, Glasgow; David McCullough, 21, of Burnage, Manchester; David Annette, 35, of Chorley, Lancashire; Scott McSeveney, 22, of Hunter Avenue, Shotts; Brian McVicar, 23, of Falkland Drive, East Kilbride, and Greg McKenna, 23, of Falkland Drive, East Kilbride; William McSporran, 18, of Craighouse Street, Glasgow; James Bell, 43, of Corrie View, Cumbernauld.