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Manchester ARTICLES

Injured Police Officer Says Uefa Violence Was Frightening

16th May 2008

An officer from Greater Manchester Police who was injured in Manchester’s Uefa Cup football riot said that he was lucky to escape serious injury in the violence.

Trouble started in the city after a screen showing Glasgow Rangers Vs Zenit St Petersburg in the Uefa Cup Final suffered from technical problems. The screen, which was being watched by 20,000 Rangers fans in Piccadilly Gardens, could not be fixed, so violence soon erupted. The violence worsened when Rangers lost the match 2 – 0 to St Petersburg.

Pc Regan said that the violence in the city centre was the worst he had seen in his 23 year career with the force. He said: “From the outset we were bombarded with bottles and cans as we tried to contain and disperse the crowd…It was frightening, on a different scale from any other match I have worked in my 23-year career.”

Pc Regan said that he was injured after bottle-hurling fans chased him and his colleagues down Newton Street. He was hit on the elbow by a bottle from a distance of just four feet and soon found himself on the ground. He said: “I remember moving backwards to try and avoid being hit again but next thing I was on the floor. I could feel the crowd kicking me in the side but my body armour was protecting me. I could see their feet in front of me even though my head was on the floor. I managed to get up but I'd lost my baton and had nothing to defend myself with.” Following the attack, Pc Regan was left with sore ribs and a punctured arm.

Despite his injuries, Pc Regan said that not all Rangers fans were responsible for the violence. He said: “I can't tar them all with the same brush. The fans we met at the rendezvous point who were coming away from the stadium were as good as gold, but the people who were kicking off were drunk and out for trouble.”

Source:

BBC