Paranoid Rattlesnake
03-01-2004, 10:46 AM
Lincolnshire Echo
VIOLENT RAMPAGE WHICH BROUGHT SHAME ON CLUB
10:30 - 01 March 2004
Thousands of football fans flooded into the centre of Lincoln to enjoy a game on Saturday - but their day was marred by violence which left the inside of a hotel in tatters. Lucy Hawkins reports on the day.
Police were prepared for the worst when football supporters began to arrive for the big match.
A total of 7,069 Hull City and Lincoln City fans attended the teams' Third Division fixture.
And Lincolnshire Police, concerned about potential violence between the two sides, designated the match Category C. This put officers in attendance on the force's highest level of alert.
Intelligence officers from Humberside Police joined the operation, as did a mounted section from Nottinghamshire Police. British Transport Police were also on standby.
Tensions between fans of both clubs had been running high for months.
Hull City fans ambushed a train carrying Lincoln supporters as it arrived in Hull's Paragon Station last season, throwing bricks and bottles at carriages.
Only a rapid police response prevented further trouble.
Last season more Lincoln fans were arrested than at any other club in the Third Division.
Lincoln City chairman Rob Bradley was "saddened" by the events of Saturday afternoon, which ended in 74 arrests when a group of Hull "supporters" without tickets rioted after they were locked in the Barbican Hotel.
"The club will be investigating for any problems. It is just unbelievable and beggars belief that in this day and age people can behave like that.
"The irony is that it is now very safe inside the ground. It's just a small minority causing trouble outside and sadly this is still linked to football."
The owner of the Sun Cafe in Lincoln's St Marys Street, Nimali Jayasuriya, witnessed the events of Saturday.
"I couldn't believe it," she said. "At first we didn't know what was going on.
"We saw the fans all escorted through the city as normal but later there were police everywhere around the Barbican.
"There must have been 200 officers in the street.
"We were told to stay inside and we watched them bring out the staff at around 5pm.
"This is the sort of thing you expect to see on the television - not on the streets of Lincoln."
Lincolnshire Police intelligence manager Detective Inspector Simon Craft said: "The difficulty is that a lot of these violent groups just attach themselves to football clubs.
"The vast majority of fans are always very well behaved.
"The main thing is that no-one was hurt and that the violence was away from the people and families going about their business in the town."
VIOLENT RAMPAGE WHICH BROUGHT SHAME ON CLUB
10:30 - 01 March 2004
Thousands of football fans flooded into the centre of Lincoln to enjoy a game on Saturday - but their day was marred by violence which left the inside of a hotel in tatters. Lucy Hawkins reports on the day.
Police were prepared for the worst when football supporters began to arrive for the big match.
A total of 7,069 Hull City and Lincoln City fans attended the teams' Third Division fixture.
And Lincolnshire Police, concerned about potential violence between the two sides, designated the match Category C. This put officers in attendance on the force's highest level of alert.
Intelligence officers from Humberside Police joined the operation, as did a mounted section from Nottinghamshire Police. British Transport Police were also on standby.
Tensions between fans of both clubs had been running high for months.
Hull City fans ambushed a train carrying Lincoln supporters as it arrived in Hull's Paragon Station last season, throwing bricks and bottles at carriages.
Only a rapid police response prevented further trouble.
Last season more Lincoln fans were arrested than at any other club in the Third Division.
Lincoln City chairman Rob Bradley was "saddened" by the events of Saturday afternoon, which ended in 74 arrests when a group of Hull "supporters" without tickets rioted after they were locked in the Barbican Hotel.
"The club will be investigating for any problems. It is just unbelievable and beggars belief that in this day and age people can behave like that.
"The irony is that it is now very safe inside the ground. It's just a small minority causing trouble outside and sadly this is still linked to football."
The owner of the Sun Cafe in Lincoln's St Marys Street, Nimali Jayasuriya, witnessed the events of Saturday.
"I couldn't believe it," she said. "At first we didn't know what was going on.
"We saw the fans all escorted through the city as normal but later there were police everywhere around the Barbican.
"There must have been 200 officers in the street.
"We were told to stay inside and we watched them bring out the staff at around 5pm.
"This is the sort of thing you expect to see on the television - not on the streets of Lincoln."
Lincolnshire Police intelligence manager Detective Inspector Simon Craft said: "The difficulty is that a lot of these violent groups just attach themselves to football clubs.
"The vast majority of fans are always very well behaved.
"The main thing is that no-one was hurt and that the violence was away from the people and families going about their business in the town."