Sheffield Wednesday v Leeds game passed without disorder, say police
Sheffield Wednesday’s game against Leeds last weekend passed without disorder, according to South Yorkshire Police.
Ahead of the Yorkshire derby there were fears of a repeat of disorder which marred the fixture last season.
There were outbreaks of violence on the trams when rival supporters met last season, leading to a suspension of services for a period of time before and after last Saturday’s game.
Stagecoach Supertram said the decision was taken because of ‘serious incidents’ the last time the two teams met, with trams vandalised and staff intimidated and subjected to ‘physical and verbal assaults’.
The firm said bosses met South Yorkshire Police and Sheffield Wednesday officials to discuss ways of reducing the risk of similar incidents happening again but suggestions to reduce the number of away tickets sold and ways of managing ‘the transport of away fans’ had not been ‘supported’ by Wednesday bosses.
Ahead of the game, South Yorkshire Police said the force fully supported the suspension of trams ‘due to level of safety concerns raised following last year's fixture, where incidents of damage to their trams and intimidation of their staff were reported’.
Following Saturday’s game, South Yorkshire Police said: “The game passed without incident – no disorder or arrests linked to the match.”