| Hateland -
Articles |
04/05/02
- Police may sue soccer club over the fans' night of
riot shame
By Gordon Rayner
Daily Mail
A FOOTBALL club may be sued by police after its supporters
staged a riot in which 47 officers were injured. The
unprecedented legal action was threatened as it emerged
that thugs used mobile phones to orchestrate pre-arranged
clashes in the streets around Millwall's ground.
Calling the injuries to his men 'totally unacceptable',
Scotland Yard Deputy Commissioner lan Blair said he
would meet representatives of the club and the Football
League before deciding whether to sue. 'We will be taking
legal advice to consider whether or not it is appropriate
to seek recompense for the injuries and the overall
cost of this operation,' he added.
Twenty-six police horses were also hurt in the violence
outside the South-East London club's New Den stadium
on Thursday night. One, Alamein, nearly bled to death
when an artery in his leg was severed. Hundreds of Millwall
fans fought pitched battles with riot police after their
team lost a crucial First Division promotion play-off
game against Birmingham City.
Much of the violence appeared premeditated, with weapons
- including fireworks - having been hidden outside the
ground in Bermondsey. In one of the worst soccer riots
seen in Britain since the mid-Eighties, Birmingham supporters
were attacked, cars were set on fire and property smashed
by up to 900 hooligans in two hours of terror.
Six Metropolitan Police officers needed hospital treatment
after bricks, paving slabs and other missiles were thrown.
Sergeant Russell Lamb, 35, who had seven stitches after
a lump of concrete hit him in the face, said: 'It was
one of the most frightening situations I've ever been
in because of the ferocity of the assault and the amount
of ammunition they were using.
'The crowd were laughing in the officers' faces and
taunting them. I'm sure that it was pre-planned. It
felt like it was too sustained. They knew exactly what
they wanted to do. There were hundreds of fireworks
which they must have brought with them. They could have
hid them outside the ground and picked them up later.'
Chief Superintendent Mike Humphrey, who led the police
operation, said he believed his officers could have
been killed. Police had expected trouble and had 250
officers on duty. Reinforcements were called in when
the trouble began. Officers said the violence was orchestrated
by a hard-core of up to 100 thugs.
The rioting began shortly before 10pm as Millwall fans
left the New Den. Sporadic skirmishes with police broke
out, then several dozen thugs attacked officers outside
the Bramcote Arms in Barkworth Road, 250 yards from
the ground. 'The police tried to contain them,' said
resident Barbara Greenfield, 40.
'But the fans went for them and they had to retreat.
A lot of the fans had mobile phones and seemed to be
telling others to join in. Within a few minutes there
must have been 200 in the street attacking the police.'
As officers called for reinforcements, the hooligans
smashed down a wall and began using the bricks as missiles.
They lifted paving slabs and broke them up to throw.
Others had flares, fireworks and petrol bombs. Michelle
Thorpe was trapped in her car between the rioters and
the police. 'There was no way out,' said Mrs Thorpe,
35. 'Bricks and bits of paving slab starting crashing
on to my car and smashing the windows.
I genuinely feared for my life.' Isobel Griffin saw
her plight and told her to run into her house. 'There
were still bricks being thrown at her as she dashed
in,' said Mrs Griffin, 49. 'She stayed until 12.45am.
It was only then that we felt it was safe. 'The street
looked like something out of Beirut afterwards.'
Across the road, Nieem Baluch, 20, watched as the battle
raged. 'I noticed a man standing in front of my house
with his arm raised,' he said. 'He threw a brick straight
through the window. I managed to move just in time to
avoid it hitting me.' The violence petered out around
midnight. Only seven arrests were made but police will
study video footage and expect to make further arrests
once the rioters are identified.
Millwall president Reg Burr said anyone identified as
one of the hooligans would be banned from the club for
life. Toby Harris, chairman of the Metropolitan Police
Authority, said he supported taking legal advice on
whether to sue Millwall, adding: 'Given the pressures
the Met sustain in their fight against street crime
and terrorism in our capital, we will not tolerate this
level of violence.'
The scenes were among the worst at an English game since
Millwall fans rioted at Luton's Kenilworth Road ground
in 1985. The club's hooligan element call themselves
the Millwall Bushwhackers. A BBC crew went undercover
this season to film them for a programme to be broadcast
next Sunday.
Producer Tom Giles said: 'This isn't an isolated incident.
There have been riots at six or seven games. The most
terrifying thing is that a lot of the hooligans are
just 13 or 14. They have absolutely no fear of the police.'
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