| 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots | |||||||
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| Part of the history of Manchester | |||||||
Officers of the Greater Manchester Police keep Rangers F.C. fans from Zenit fans at the Zenit fanzone |
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The 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, also known as the Battle of Piccadilly,[2] was a serious public disorder incident that took place in the city of Manchester, England, before, during and after the 2008 UEFA Cup Final.
The match, contested between Rangers F.C. and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg, was preceded by scuffles between fans. Serious disorder was sparked by the failure of a big screen erected in Piccadilly Gardens to transmit the match to the many thousands of Rangers fans who had traveled to the city without match tickets. In addition to property damage, fifteen policemen were injured and ambulance crews attended 52 cases of assault.[3] A Manchester City Council inquiry into the events estimated that 230,000 Rangers fans visited Manchester for the match, 39 fans were arrested for a range of offences across the city and 38 complaints were received about Greater Manchester Police officers' conduct.
The rioting was widely condemned, particularly by politicians and media commentators.
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The day began with minor scuffles, and few arrests. One early incident occurred when fighting between rival fans broke out in a public house, resulting in its closure.[4] The evening before the match, Rangers fans had set off fire alarms in the city, a criminal offence.[5] An official report found that missile-throwing and fighting by Rangers fans occurred as long as eight hours before the match began.[1] Around late afternoon the Piccadilly fans zone's gates were forced. Large numbers of fans were jumping upon the roofs of sales units and urinating. The sales units were "overrun" and frightened staff had to flee. Police were called but were powerless in the face of large numbers of supporters.[6]
Serious civil disorder began when a large screen, erected to broadcast the game at the Zenit fanzone in Piccadilly Gardens allegedly failed. Chris Burrows, chair of the Manchester Police Federation, claimed the screen was deliberately switched off.[7] When the fault was not rectified some Rangers fans began attacking each other and the police with weapons. The technicians who were brought in to try to rectify the fault were attacked with bottles and had to withdraw.[8][9][10] Rangers fans then tore down railings, fighting amongst themselves, as the riot police arrived en masse.[11] Several hundred people became directly involved in disorder and "considerable violence" was directed at the police.[12] Thirty-nine police officers were injured,[13] including one incident in which hundreds of fans isolated and attacked a riot officer.[14] PC Paul Ritchie received a High Commendation for saving a police officer knocked to the ground by a bottle thrown by a rioter.[15] A police dog was injured when it stood on some broken glass.[3]
BBC News reported that groups of Rangers supporters had clashed with police in the city centre after attacking a bank, bus stops, and a sports car which was bounced over the road.[16] Greater Manchester Police reported that "a minority of thugs"[16] among more than 100,000 visiting Rangers fans were involved in the violence.
There were reports that a Zenit Saint Petersburg fan was stabbed before the game outside the stadium.[17][18] However, Rangers fans detained in connection with the alleged incident were released without charge.[19]
Authorities had to draft in hundreds of extra riot police to deal with the rioting.[2] As the riots continued, by 2100 BST, ambulances were no longer being sent into the city centre unless accompanied by a police escort due to concerns about the "safety of the crew".[2]
British Transport Police reported sporadic outbursts of rioting at Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Deansgate train stations.[20]
The riots received huge publicity, with BBC News 24 interrupting normal programming to broadcast the riots live on television,[21] and ITN's flagship News at Ten programme giving extensive coverage to the riots.[22] The disturbance was dubbed the "Battle of Piccadilly" by the Manchester Evening News and Judge Andrew Blake of Manchester Crown Court, when later sentencing twelve people in connection to the disorder, described the riots as "the worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the blitz".[23][24][25]
The following day the British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the rioting,[26] saying it was "a disgrace" and calling the behaviour of the Rangers fans "unacceptable".[26][27] A spokesman for Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond said the Rangers fans involved had brought "shame to club and country" and Scottish Conservative leader, Annabel Goldie, said she was "absolutely appalled" by the footage, and condemned the Rangers fans' behaviour as "horrific and inexcusable".[28] Stephen Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council, offered an apology in a Manchester newspaper for 200 hardcore thugs.[29]
Rangers Chief executive Martin Bain stated that the club was "absolutely delighted with the behaviour of our supporters."[30]
Media commentators argued that that Rangers fans have a history of such trouble,[31][32][33] with Alan Bairner, Professor of Loughborough University's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, describing Rangers as having "the biggest hooligan problem in the British game".[33] Graham Spiers, writing in response to the riots, described Rangers as "a club with a poison at its core."[31] Representatives of the Tartan Army indicated that the disturbances may damage the reputation of Scottish football fans abroad.[34]
PC Mick Regan, attacked by a gang of twenty Rangers fans while lying on the ground, described the violence. "It was unbelievable when we got there, it was already in motion. It was frightening, on a different scale from any other match I have worked in my 23-year career. It seemed the vast majority were drunk and they just wanted to cause trouble. A lot of the fans were OK and just asking for directions but there was a large hard core ... .I know they will say it's a minority but a few thousand is a big minority."[35][36][37] Detective Superintendent Geoff Wessell, of Greater Manchester Police, stressed that a "very, very low proportion" of the travelling Rangers fans had been involved in disorder.[38]
A UEFA spokesman indicated that Rangers were unlikely to face sanctions on this occasion because the violence did not occur at the City of Manchester Stadium, where the match was held.[39]
Some Rangers fans criticised the tactics employed by Greater Manchester Police.[40] In particular, the deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives', Murdo Fraser, suggested the problem might have been caused by heavy-handed policing. He later retracted this after police released footage showing the scale of the problems.[41]
There were 63 complaints about police conduct, mainly on the grounds of excessive force.[42] They included one from a 60-year-old man who spent four weeks in hospital after suffering a broken hip and perforated bowel.[43] One fan, James Clark, was charged with rioting, but later cleared of all charges by a court in Manchester. He told STV, "I have been through utter hell because of the police. They picked me out of crowd of fans at random, beat me black and blue with their batons and set their dogs on me. Yet they charged me with being violent. You couldn't make it up."[44] The police, however, defended their actions.[45]
There was also criticism from supporters regarding the organisation of the event.[16] In response the Leader of Manchester City Council, Sir Richard Leese, said "If we are going to put a finger of blame anywhere it has to be with those fans having to take responsibility for their own behaviour."[16]
Manchester City Council announced that 39 fans were arrested for various offences.[1] These included Section 18 wounding at the stadium in relation to the Russian man who was allegedly stabbed, public order offences, touting, affray, possession of an offensive weapon, Section 47 assault, common assault, possession of Class A drugs, theft, possession of forged tickets, and a Zenit fan for pitch incursion. The force's Assistant Chief Constable referred to the behaviour of the fans were involved in trouble as "unnecessary and unacceptable".[46]
An appeal was issued on Crimewatch in January 2009, and published in Rangers' match programme, attempting to trace 49 men in connection with the riots.[47]
In August 2009, thirteen suspected football hooligans appeared in Manchester magistrates court charged with violent disorder following the final.[48][49] In particular, Scott McSeveny was charged with knocking PC John Goodwin unconscious; another fan, Mark Stoddart, was alleged to have assaulted PC Mick Regan.[50][51] Twelve people were convicted of rioting and eleven given prison sentences varying from six months to three and a half years in September 2010.[24][25]
An arrested rioter was found to be a serving Essex police officer who was off duty at the time of the incident. He was charged with violent disorder and was released on bail.[52]
Plans by Manchester United to invite Rangers to be the opponents for Gary Neville's testimonial match were reportedly abandoned in April 2010 due to objections from police and the local council over fears of trouble due to remaining bad feeling over the damage caused to Manchester city centre by the riots.[53]
The draw of Rangers with Manchester United in the same group for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage again sparked security fears, with Rangers due to play Manchester at Old Trafford in the opening Group C game on 14 September 2010, with a reverse fixture in Glasgow on 24 November. The chairman of the Rangers Supporters Trust dismissed concerns, while United's chief executive David Gill played down the potential for trouble, emphasising instead the connection the two clubs have in both the current club managers in Alex Ferguson of United and Walter Smith of Rangers.[54] The Rangers chief executive Martin Bain also dismissed concerns, highlighting the club's good relations, and prior Champions League meeting in 2003. As with the postponed testimonial, concerns reportedly remained around any latent bad feeling, the potential for the game to attract trouble makers, and the potential for a large number of ticketless fans arriving in Manchester. Tournament organisers UEFA did not ban Rangers fans from the game, but took the extra step of sending a security officer to both clubs to assess arrangements.[55] Police reported that there were ten arrests at the match for minor offences, involving five Rangers supporters and five Manchester United fans.[56]