2008 UEFA Cup Final riots
Encyclopedia
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final riots, also known as the Battle of Piccadilly, 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. 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.
, resulting in its closure. The evening before the match, Rangers fans had set off fire alarms in the city, a criminal offence. An official report found that missile-throwing and fighting by Rangers fans occurred as long as eight hours before the match began. 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.
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. 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. Rangers fans then tore down railings, fighting amongst themselves, as the riot police arrived en masse. Several hundred people became directly involved in disorder and "considerable violence" was directed at the police. Thirty-nine police officers were injured, including one incident in which hundreds of fans isolated and attacked a riot officer. PC Paul Ritchie received a High Commendation for saving a police officer knocked to the ground by a bottle thrown by a rioter. A police dog
was injured when it stood on some broken glass.
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. Greater Manchester Police
reported that "a minority of thugs" 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. However, Rangers fans detained in connection with the alleged incident were released without charge.
Authorities had to draft in hundreds of extra riot police to deal with the rioting. 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".
British Transport Police
reported sporadic outbursts of rioting at Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Deansgate
train stations.
The riots received huge publicity, with BBC News 24
interrupting normal programming to broadcast the riots live on television, and ITN's flagship News at Ten programme giving extensive coverage to the riots. 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
".
The following day the British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
condemned the rioting, saying it was "a disgrace" and calling the behaviour of the Rangers fans "unacceptable". 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".
Stephen Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council, offered an apology in a Manchester newspaper for 200 hardcore thugs.
Rangers Chief executive Martin Bain
stated that the club was "absolutely delighted with the behaviour of our supporters."
Media commentators argued that that Rangers fans have a history of such trouble, 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". Graham Spiers
, writing in response to the riots, described Rangers as "a club with a poison at its core." Representatives of the Tartan Army
indicated that the disturbances may damage the reputation of Scottish football fans abroad.
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." 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.
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.
, 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.
There were 63 complaints about police conduct, mainly on the grounds of excessive force. They included one from a 60-year-old man who spent four weeks in hospital after suffering a broken hip and perforated bowel.
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." The police, however, defended their actions.
There was also criticism from supporters regarding the organisation of the event. 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."
Manchester City Council announced that 39 fans were arrested for various offences. 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".
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.
In August 2009, thirteen suspected football hooligans appeared in Manchester magistrates court charged with violent disorder following the final.
In particular, Scott McSeveny was charged with knocking PC John Goodwin unconscious; another fan, Mark Stoddart, was alleged to have assaulted PC Mick Regan. Twelve people were convicted of rioting and eleven given prison sentences varying from six months to three and a half years in September 2010.
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.
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.
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. 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. Police reported that there were ten arrests at the match for minor offences, involving five Rangers supporters and five Manchester United fans.
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England, before, during and after the 2008 UEFA Cup Final
2008 UEFA Cup Final
The 2008 UEFA Cup Final was the 37th final of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second tier club football tournament. The match was played at the City of Manchester Stadium, home ground of Manchester City F.C., in Manchester, England, at 20:45 CEST on 14 May 2008.The match was contested by Zenit St. Petersburg...
.
The match, contested between Rangers F.C.
Rangers F.C.
Rangers Football Club are an association football club based in Glasgow, Scotland, who play in the Scottish Premier League. The club are nicknamed the Gers, Teddy Bears and the Light Blues, and the fans are known to each other as bluenoses...
and FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
, was preceded by scuffles between fans. Serious disorder was sparked by the failure of a big screen erected in Piccadilly Gardens
Piccadilly Gardens
Piccadilly Gardens is a green space in Manchester city centre, England, situated at one end of Market Street and on the edge of the Northern Quarter...
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. A Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
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
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
officers' conduct.
The rioting was widely condemned, particularly by politicians and media commentators.
Early scuffles
The day began with minor scuffles, and few arrests. One early incident occurred when fighting between rival fans broke out in a public housePublic house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
, resulting in its closure. The evening before the match, Rangers fans had set off fire alarms in the city, a criminal offence. An official report found that missile-throwing and fighting by Rangers fans occurred as long as eight hours before the match began. 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.
Screen failure
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
with weapons. The technicians who were brought in to try to rectify the fault were attacked with bottles and had to withdraw. Rangers fans then tore down railings, fighting amongst themselves, as the riot police arrived en masse. Several hundred people became directly involved in disorder and "considerable violence" was directed at the police. Thirty-nine police officers were injured, including one incident in which hundreds of fans isolated and attacked a riot officer. PC Paul Ritchie received a High Commendation for saving a police officer knocked to the ground by a bottle thrown by a rioter. A police dog
Police dog
A police dog, often referred to as a "K-9 dog" in some areas , is a dog that is trained specifically to assist police and other law-enforcement personnel in their work...
was injured when it stood on some broken glass.
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. Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police
Greater Manchester Police is the police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England...
reported that "a minority of thugs" among more than 100,000 visiting Rangers fans were involved in the violence.
There were reports that a Zenit Saint Petersburg
FC Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit is a Russian football club from the city of Saint-Petersburg. Founded in 1925 , the club plays in the Russian Premier League...
fan was stabbed before the game outside the stadium. However, Rangers fans detained in connection with the alleged incident were released without charge.
Authorities had to draft in hundreds of extra riot police to deal with the rioting. As the riots continued, by 2100 BST
British Summer Time
Western European Summer Time is a summer daylight saving time scheme, 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time. It is used in the following places:* the Canary Islands* Portugal * Ireland...
, 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".
British Transport Police
British Transport Police
The British Transport Police is a special police force that polices those railways and light-rail systems in Great Britain for which it has entered into an agreement to provide such services...
reported sporadic outbursts of rioting at Piccadilly, Oxford Road and Deansgate
Deansgate railway station
Deansgate is a railway station in Manchester city centre, England. It is situated approximately west of Manchester Piccadilly in the Castlefield area, at the junction of Deansgate and Whitworth Street West....
train stations.
Reaction
BBC News 24
BBC News is the BBC's 24-hour rolling news television network in the United Kingdom. The channel launched as BBC News 24 on 9 November 1997 at 17:30 as part of the BBC's foray into digital domestic television channels, becoming the first competitor to Sky News, which had been running since 1989...
interrupting normal programming to broadcast the riots live on television, and ITN's flagship News at Ten programme giving extensive coverage to the riots. The disturbance was dubbed the "Battle of Piccadilly" by the Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
The Manchester Evening News is a regional daily newspaper covering Greater Manchester in the United Kingdom. It is published every day except Sunday and is owned by Trinity Mirror plc following its sale by Guardian Media Group in early 2010. It has an average daily circulation of 90,973 copies...
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
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
".
The following day the British Prime Minister
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
condemned the rioting, saying it was "a disgrace" and calling the behaviour of the Rangers fans "unacceptable". A spokesman for Scottish First Minister, Alex Salmond
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson "Alex" Salmond MSP is a Scottish politician and current First Minister of Scotland. He became Scotland's fourth First Minister in May 2007. He is the Leader of the Scottish National Party , having served as Member of the Scottish Parliament for Gordon...
said the Rangers fans involved had brought "shame to club and country" and Scottish Conservative
Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party is the part of the British Conservative Party that operates in Scotland. Like the UK party, it has a centre-right political philosophy which promotes conservatism and strong British Unionism...
leader, Annabel Goldie
Annabel Goldie
Annabel MacNicoll Goldie is a Scottish Conservative Member of the Scottish Parliament for the West of Scotland Region. She was the Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament from 2005 until 2011....
, said she was "absolutely appalled" by the footage, and condemned the Rangers fans' behaviour as "horrific and inexcusable".
Stephen Purcell, leader of Glasgow City Council, offered an apology in a Manchester newspaper for 200 hardcore thugs.
Rangers Chief executive Martin Bain
Martin Bain
Martin Bain is the former chief executive of Scottish Premier League football club Rangers.He was appointed chief executive by Sir David Murray on 11 February 2005, having been at Rangers since 1996 and a board member from 2000...
stated that the club was "absolutely delighted with the behaviour of our supporters."
Media commentators argued that that Rangers fans have a history of such trouble, with Alan Bairner, Professor of Loughborough University
Loughborough University
Loughborough University is a research based campus university located in the market town of Loughborough, Leicestershire, in the East Midlands of England...
's School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, describing Rangers as having "the biggest hooligan
Football hooliganism
Football hooliganism, sometimes referred to by the British media as the English Disease, is unruly and destructive behaviour—such as brawls, vandalism and intimidation—by association football club fans...
problem in the British game". Graham Spiers
Graham Spiers
Graham Spiers is a Scottish sports journalist who writes for the Scottish edition of The Times newspaper. He has won Scotland's Sports Journalist of the Year award four times....
, writing in response to the riots, described Rangers as "a club with a poison at its core." Representatives of the Tartan Army
Tartan Army
The Tartan Army is a name given to fans of the Scotland national football team. They have won awards from several organisations for their friendly behaviour and charitable work...
indicated that the disturbances may damage the reputation of Scottish football fans abroad.
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." 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.
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
City of Manchester Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England – also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship purposes– is the home ground of...
, where the match was held.
Criticism of police conduct
Some Rangers fans criticised the tactics employed by Greater Manchester Police. In particular, the deputy leader of the Scottish Conservatives', Murdo FraserMurdo Fraser
Murdo Fraser is a Scottish politician and the current Deputy leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish Parliament. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Mid Scotland and Fife region since 2001....
, 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.
There were 63 complaints about police conduct, mainly on the grounds of excessive force. They included one from a 60-year-old man who spent four weeks in hospital after suffering a broken hip and perforated bowel.
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." The police, however, defended their actions.
There was also criticism from supporters regarding the organisation of the event. In response the Leader of Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
, 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."
Arrests and convictions
Assistant Chief Constable
Assistant chief constable is the third highest rank in all British territorial police forces , as well as the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and...
referred to the behaviour of the fans were involved in trouble as "unnecessary and unacceptable".
An appeal was issued on Crimewatch
Crimewatch
Crimewatch is a long-running and high-profile British television programme produced by the BBC, that reconstructs major unsolved crimes with a view to gaining information from the members of the public. The programme is usually broadcast once a month on BBC One...
in January 2009, and published in Rangers' match programme, attempting to trace 49 men in connection with the riots.
In August 2009, thirteen suspected football hooligans appeared in Manchester magistrates court charged with violent disorder following the final.
In particular, Scott McSeveny was charged with knocking PC John Goodwin unconscious; another fan, Mark Stoddart, was alleged to have assaulted PC Mick Regan. Twelve people were convicted of rioting and eleven given prison sentences varying from six months to three and a half years in September 2010.
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.
Return to Manchester
Plans by Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.
Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
to invite Rangers to be the opponents for Gary Neville
Gary Neville
Gary Alexander Neville is a former English footballer. He is England's most capped right-back and was Manchester United's club captain for five years....
's testimonial match
Testimonial match
A testimonial match or testimonial game, often referred to simply as a testimonial, is a practice in some sports, notably football and especially in the United Kingdom, where a club puts on a match in honour of a player for service to the club....
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.
The draw of Rangers with Manchester United in the same group for the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage
2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage
This article details the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League group stage.The group stage featured 32 teams: the 22 automatic qualifiers and the 10 winners of the play-off round ....
again sparked security fears, with Rangers due to play Manchester at Old Trafford
Old Trafford
Old Trafford commonly refers to two sporting arenas:* Old Trafford, home of Manchester United F.C.* Old Trafford Cricket Ground, home of Lancashire County Cricket ClubOld Trafford can also refer to:...
in the opening Group C game on 14 September 2010, with a reverse fixture in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
on 24 November. The chairman of the Rangers Supporters Trust
Rangers Supporters Trust
The Rangers Supporters' Trust is a pressure group made up of supporters of Rangers Football Club. Formed in 2003, it aims to pursue the club's interests robustly, monitor media output relating to the club and to project the views of ordinary supporters to the management.In January 2003 three of the...
dismissed concerns, while United's chief executive David Gill
David Gill (executive)
David Alan Gill is British football executive, currently Chief Executive of Manchester United F.C. and a board member of the Football Association...
played down the potential for trouble, emphasising instead the connection the two clubs have in both the current club managers in Alex Ferguson
Alex Ferguson
Sir Alexander Chapman "Alex" Ferguson, CBE is a Scottish association football manager and former player, currently managing Manchester United, where he has been in charge since 1986...
of United and Walter Smith
Walter Smith
Walter Smith, OBE is a Scottish football manager. His most recent job was at Scottish Premier League club Rangers.Smith had a relatively modest playing career, consisting of two spells with Dundee United which was split by a short time at Dumbarton.A pelvic injury meant he moved in to coaching at...
of Rangers. The Rangers chief executive Martin Bain
Martin Bain
Martin Bain is the former chief executive of Scottish Premier League football club Rangers.He was appointed chief executive by Sir David Murray on 11 February 2005, having been at Rangers since 1996 and a board member from 2000...
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
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
did not ban Rangers fans from the game, but took the extra step of sending a security officer to both clubs to assess arrangements. Police reported that there were ten arrests at the match for minor offences, involving five Rangers supporters and five Manchester United fans.