| Hateland -
Articles |
03/05/02
- UK police threaten to sue soccer club over clashes
By Michael Holden
British police have said they were considering taking
unprecedented legal action against a soccer club after
47 officers were injured during violent clashes with
hooligans outside its stadium. Deputy Commissioner Ian
Blair said Scotland Yard was pondering suing Millwall
Football Club after its supporters went on the rampage
following a defeat on Thursday night by Birmingham City
in the second leg of a division one play-off semifinal.
At least 47 police officers and 26 police horses were
injured as riot police battled several hundred fans
for more than an hour in streets around Millwall's New
Den Stadium in south London. Officers came under a hail
of missiles including bottles, lumps of concrete and
fireworks. Several cars were set on fire and a children's
playground was "smashed to pieces".
"This was absolutely unacceptable. Given Scotland
Yard's responsibility for combating street crime and
terrorism we are not prepared to accept this level of
violence being offered to our officers at a football
game," Blair told reporters. "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 said he believed it was the first time a British
force had considered taking such action. Blair, who
said the violence was orchestrated, said six officers
needed hospital treatment for broken bones and facial
injuries. Seven arrests were made at the match but only
three related to the disorder after the game.
Millwall chairman Theo Paphitis said the club could
only control events inside its stadium and disputed
whether the police could successfully sue. "That's
something that has never happened before, that's something
that no one is aware is actually in the law," he
told Sky News. "But what happened outside the ground
is appalling and it cannot be defended in any form whatsoever."
He promised anyone involved in the action would be banned
from the club for life. The London club has worked hard
to rid itself of a reputation for hooliganism established
mainly during the 1980s and Thursday's trouble was the
worst in English football for many years. But it means
football hooliganism is once again in the headlines
just weeks before the English national team heads off
for the World Cup Finals in Japan and South Korea.
The Millwall disturbances came the day after clashes
between police and fans in Cardiff, south Wales, after
the home side lost their second division playoff semifinal.
In January, there were ugly scenes after an FA Cup match
between Cardiff and premier league club Leeds United.
The English Football Association said recently that
new legislation and tough checks on fans applying to
join the new England Supporters Club would prevent known
trouble-makers travelling to Japan or South Korea, forestalling
a repeat of the violent scenes in Charleroi, Belgium,
during the European Championships in 2000.
Blair himself said the police saw no connection between
Thursday's trouble and planning for the World Cup. "That
is in Korea and Japan and the kind of people who are
involved in this kind of event, I hope, will not be
going to the World Cup," he said. |
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