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Fans clash at Steel City Derby - PICTURES



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Published Date:
09 April 2008
Crime reporter
BATON-WIELDING police officers stormed the crowd at Sheffield's second Steel City Derby of the season when rival fans clashed in the stands.
Police were forced to act when trouble erupted in the Valad stand at Bramall Lane within minutes of Sheffield Wednesday scoring their second goal of the game and going 2-0 up.

Stewards tried to intervene and split up rival fans but called for police back-up when punches continued to fly.

It is believed Wednesday fans unable to get tickets for the away end of the ground sneaked in with United fans and were caught out when their team scored.

One fan was left covered in blood from a huge gash to his head and officers were seen removing fans from the stand to try to stem the violence.

Minutes later trouble erupted on the Kop and again police had to intervene, followed moments later by a minor skirmish on the lower tier of the away end where United fans were.

One United fan, aged 27, said: "It looked like some Wednesday fans had got tickets to sit with the Blades fans, probably because the away ticket allocation was so low.

"They must have been caught out after the second goal went in because that's when it all seemed to kick off.

"The most serious trouble seemed to be in the Valad stand, where the stewards went in first but must have called for back up because the police then raced up to join them with their batons.

"Things calmed down by the end and I didn't see any trouble after the game."

South Yorkshire Police said there were eight arrests for public disorder incidents.

Chief Superintendent Jon House, District Commander for Sheffield, said: "The majority of the 30,000 fans at the game were passionate about the football and enjoyed the game in a peaceful way, however a small number of Wednesday fans had got into the United end and were recognised as such.

"They should not have been there and as such they were at risk and so too were other members of the public so we had to deploy officers to get them out.

"Deploying into large crowds is not something we like to do as it puts officers at risk and members of the public if situations develop and on this occasion officers were injured.

"Some people may have viewed the police reaction as heavy handedness however this was crowd safety issue and the Wednesday fans were ejected to prevent any further problems."

READ MORE
Honours even: Click here for Match report and full photo slideshow.
Owls thwarted by late free-kick: Read James Shield's derby verdict.
Both sets of fans left wanting more: Read Paul Thompson on the Steel City Derby.
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The full article contains 472 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 09 April 2008 11:03 AM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Sheffield
 
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1

W1seowl,

09/04/2008 09:49:26
No mention of the smoke bombs outside the ground before kick off I see, or the fireworks after the game had finished outside the away end.
2

,

09/04/2008 10:27:53
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason: Corrected.
3

dizzys dad,

09/04/2008 12:03:25
It was United`s decision to give the Owls fans so few tickets,that led to this inevitable trouble. They invited Owls fans to try and get tickets in the Utd stands, by preventing them from using the upper tier. There is blame laid at only one door, the crass people at Bramall Lane that made the decision to starve Owls fans of tickets.
4

dizzys dad,

09/04/2008 12:21:04
I didn`t go to last nights game, I couldn`t get a ticket. The powers that be at Bramall Lane at previous derby games have purpousely created a hostile environment,[ I bet it was the same last night]. When the two teams come out at the start of the game, the announcer welcomes only Utd on to the pitch. He never once mentions Wednesday by name, preferring to call us "The Opposition", He reads out Utd`s Line-up on several occassions, never read Wednesdays out. The powers that be at Utd are small minded and petty, and that`s why they will never be thought of in the same way as WEDNESDAY are, as Sheffield`s BEST & BIGGEST football club, UP THE OWLS
5

gazzatheblade,

Sheffield 09/04/2008 12:48:29
Old chestnut, biggest and best. Just remind me of the attendance figures at the Hillsborough derby and how many of those were Blades. Last night it was 31,700, 2,500 Owls????? Ha-Ha!!
6

Nadinho,

Heeley 09/04/2008 13:33:08
Unitedyites and Wednesdayites you are both disgraceful, disrespectful and plain local idiots!

If it was my local derby Man Utd vs Liverpool or Man City, I would just watch United and that's it!

But you lot are only there for one reason:

To swing at, kick, throw punches and taunt each other!
7

R>O>B,

09/04/2008 13:33:28
Dizzys dad - Idiot.
8

RichJay,

Sheffield 09/04/2008 14:29:19
I don't see how anyone can label all United and Wednesday fans as disgraceful, disrespectful and plain local idiots. The majority of the people who went to the game didn't cause any trouble and went to support their team (as they do every week).
9

Johnny H,

Sheffield S20 09/04/2008 14:57:54
Sheffield United football club are under no obligation to give away fans both the upper and lower tier of the Bramall Lane end for league matches, only cup games. Therefore it is only right that they provide tickets to United fans first. This is a policy adopted by most premiership clubs (and other big clubs) because they can easily sell their full ticket allocation. If United couldn't sell these tickets then yes, they should have and would have allocated more space to Wednesday fans.

Wednesday fans may want to ask themselves in a Hillsbro ground with a capacity of 39,000, why was there an attendance of less that 31,000 for the last Derby game. Either this was a lack of interest from Owls fans or a problem with their ticketing policy. Whatever the reason, they should look a bit more closer to home before having a go at United's ticketing arrangements.

As for the trouble, I agree that this was by mindless morons that are not welcome at any football match, but how ridiculous to buy tickets in the home end for a derby game
10

Chris & Suzanne Wright,

Wadsley Bridge 09/04/2008 15:14:40
Dizzy's dad - even as Wednesdayites i find your comments infantile and without any substance. The fact is that United can fill their ground and have more supporters than us in the city. It pains me to say they are more progessive and years ahead of us in every way.

We were lucky to get tickets last night and extremely lucky to come away with a point as SUFC dominated and could have buried us after 20 mins as they had so many chances.

I didn't think the stadium announcer was inflammatory or disrespectful,on the contrary quite humerous . - Dizzy d you need to get in the real world pal.
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