England fans are going to Russia

Russian fans are coming to England

Chelsea hopeful on Terry injury

 

Terry is a crucial member of Chelsea's side

 

Chelsea are hopeful that skipper John Terry will be fit for the Champions League final after he was injured on the final day of the Premier League.

 

Terry, 27, was stretchered off after a collision with keeper Petr Cech and Bolton striker Kevin Davies during Sunday's 1-1 draw against Bolton.

 

The defender was in obvious pain and was taken to hospital for treatment.

 

Chelsea hope the problem was a partial shoulder dislocation and he could be fit to play in Moscow on 21 May.

 

Full story to follow.

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/chelsea/7394897.stm

Manchester has turned blue! From my office I'm watching coach after coach after coach stream into the disused metrolink depot in trafford before the Gers fans head out again into the city by double decker bus and trams.

 

About 3 coaches a minute have been arriving for the past 2 hours :o

Ian, aren't they predicting something like 100,000 people coming down for the match.

latest figure is 150,000 and that doesn't surprise as they're still streaming in

Rangers In Manchester

 

The morning of the UEFA Cup Final in Manchester with Glasgow Rangers fans gathering in Piccadilly Gardens.

 

I love this city!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

City centre trams stopped

 

CITY centre workers are facing rush hour chaos as hordes of football fans have brought tram services to a halt.

 

Metrolink operator Stagecoach said they have been forced to stop city centre services indefinitely today because throngs of supporters are blocking the lines.

 

Meanwhile coach loads of fans risked missing tonight's match after getting stuck in huge tailbacks following a pile-up on the M6. The motorway was down to one lane, northbound between junction 18, Middlewich, and junction 17, Sandbach, and the slip road was closed to traffic for around two hours. One delivery driver who was transporting merchandise to the City of Manchester Stadium for the Uefa clash said the delays stretched back up to 60 miles.

 

In the city centre, Metrolink staff were working with police to flag trams through Piccadilly Gardens but the decision to stop services was taken on safety grounds at 2pm.

 

Services will run from Altrincham and Eccles to Manchester Central and Victoria to Bury but all other lines through the city will stay down until further notice.

 

The 50 metre stretch between Piccadilly and Market Street, extending toward Moseley Street, has been worse affected with trams moving slowly since lunchtime.

 

Stagecoach Metrolink duty manager Mike Thompson said they would clear the city of any trams before stopping services. He added: "We have been resorting to old fashioned methods with staff on the ground flagging trams through affected areas but it is just too dangerous and we have had to take the decision to cease services.

 

"We are asking commuters to be patient but we cannot run an unsafe service. We will return services to normal as soon as fans have been moved on and it is safe to do so."

 

Jonathan Williams, stuck on the M6, said: "There are coaches and cars full of fans wanting to get to Manchester for the match but it looks like a lot of people could be very disappointed. We've been stuck here over and hour and no-one's going anywhere. People have parked up their cars and are out in the sunshine - all we need now is a barbecue and a big screen."

 

A spokesman for the Highways Agency said: "There was an accident involving three or four cars around 1pm and two people were trapped. We have managed to reopen the inside lane but clear-up is still taking place meaning there is a lot of traffic down to one lane. No one has been seriously injured."

 

The M6 was reopened at 2.45pm and tail backs are now clearing.

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1049660_city_centre_trams_stopped?rss=yes

Tesco slammed for booze sales

 

TESCO were today slammed by a council boss for selling discount boxes of beer to Rangers fans as they arrived in the city centre.

 

The company’s Metro store on Market Street piled boxes of lager at the entrance to the shop which were snapped up by supporters who were in town in the early hours after travelling through the night.

 

Councillor Pat Karney condemned the practice as “highly irresponsible” and marched into the store, ordering them to remove the booze from the shop entrance.

 

Councillor Karney said: “Unbelievably at Tesco they had boxes of booze at the front entrance selling at discount. It is highly irresponsible and they have let Manchester down.

 

“We had huge problems with this with the screening of the World Cup in Exchange Square. The police and council have asked them not to do this. They had been selling it from 6am. I have given Tesco a final warning and said that if they continue to do this they are putting their own licence to sell alcohol in jeopardy.

 

“To be fair to Tesco when I pointed this out to them they moved the booze straightaway, but they should not have been doing it in the first place. But I have seen loads of young men with boxes of booze in Piccadilly Gardens and Cathedral Gardens at 8.15am.

 

“This kind of selling encourages irresponsible drinking which in turn can lead to serious public order problems.”

 

Click here to see pictures of videos and pictures of fans in Manchester

 

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A spokesman for Tesco said: “We do take a responsible approach to selling alcohol and following the concerns from the councillor we have responded immediately and removed the items from the store entrance.”

 

He said that the store had placed alcohol at the entrance before depending on promotions they were running.

 

Roads into Manchester city centre were jammed today as convoys of Rangers fans who had travelled by car started to arrive around 7am.

 

Vehicles were bedecked with Union Jacks and the atmosphere was boisterous and friendly as fans played football in Piccadilly Gardens.

 

Frank Welsh, who had a ticket for the game said: “The welcome from people in Manchester has been great. I have not had much sleep as I am booked into the Ramada Hotel – next to Piccadilly Gardens – so it has been a bit noisy with our fans but they have been well behaved.”

 

Thomas Clarke, 21, and Conrad Sewell, 19, who did not have tickets travelled overnight by car from Glasgow and slept in the vehicle in a Manchester car park after arriving at 4am.

 

Thomas said: “Coming down the motorway there were thousands of cars full of Rangers fans – some were in limos.”

 

Conrad said: “We are quite happy to be the underdogs and I think we will win 2-0 or 2-1.”

 

Nine-year-old Kirk Henderson, from Glasgow had a ticket and was going to the game with his father, uncles, and grandfather. “It is the biggest football match I have been to in my life. I have been to all the home matches in the other rounds of the cup and I think we will win 1-0.”

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1049539_tesco_slammed_for_booze_sales?rss=yes

Bore-fest so far :(

I hope I don't have to double-step over dollops of sick and unconcious Scotsmen when I go for my paper tomorrow morning :dozey:

well as the majority have nowhere to sleep, more than likely :P

one kid has a hotel room booked in Blackpool, so i hope he can get a train or thats one very expensive taxi

Win and you will have the Scottish people celebrating

Lose and you will have the Scottish people drowning their sorrows

FULL-TIME: Zenit 2-0 Rangers Heartache for Rangers as they miss out on glory in their first European final for 36 years.

 

Poor old Rangers :(

 

I blame the Scottish Premier League for making them play 4 games in 8 days

Win and you will have the Scottish people celebrating

Lose and you will have the Scottish people drowning their sorrows

And if the telly screens fail, you will have a riot. :rolleyes:

omg, i thought you were joking and then i saw the local paper

 

What went wrong?

 

THE breakdown of the big screen in Piccadilly has been blamed for sparking the violent scenes between the police and the Rangers fans.

 

The chaos which followed the failure has led the council to cancel plans to show next week's Champions League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea on big screens in the city centre.

 

While the "minority" responsible for the ugly clashes have been blasted for their behaviour, police say there was very little trouble until those who had gathered to watch the game on the big screen realised there was a problem.

 

Although fans quickly became frustrated when they realised the game had started and a screen saver image remained on display,about 11,000 followed instructions to head for a replacement screen at the velodrome, in East Manchester on council buses or on foot.

 

However trouble erupted after the 10,000 remaining began pouring out of the gardens, frantically trying to find somewhere to watch the game.

 

Pubs and bars nearby were already overflowing with fans and turned the increasingly furious crowds away.

 

Attacking

 

Violence followed after a minority of fans then started attacking police, who had formed a cordon across Oldham Street. Senior officers sent in riot squads to control the crowd and 15 officers were injured, at least one was left needing surgery overnight, and ambulance crews had to wait for escorts before answering calls in the city centre.

 

Despite the angry scenes health chiefs say there were very few serious injuries although emergency workers treated hundreds of walking wounded in one of their busiest ever nights.

 

City Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: "We had appalling scenes in Manchester last night, but we have to put that into context.

 

"The estimates vary between 100,000 and 200,000 Glasgow Rangers fans that we had in the city.

 

"Whatever that number, it's an unprecedented movement of people."

 

He added: "We did have a technical problem in the city but, even then, we had a contingency plan.

 

"We bussed people to that other screen."

 

Coun Leese said he believes only a minority of fans stayed in the city centre, however, the MEN understands many fans didn't arrive at the velodrome until the end of the first half.

 

Under fire

 

Workmen called out to fix the problem are understood to have come under fire by fans throwing bottles, forcing them to abandon the job. It is understood they refused to return to the screen despite concerns that trouble would escalate.

 

A police source said: "There were some of the fans who acted like absolute animals that night, but there is no doubt that the failure of the screen was the catalyst for the trouble."

 

At a press conference today, GMP assistant chief constable Justine Curran said the police's behaviour had been "necessary and proportionate".

 

Quizzed on whether her officers had over-reacted, she said: "I watched in [command] and saw officers chased up the street by a baying mob of 200 people.

 

"When trouble breaks out we have to respond.

 

"The vast majority of people who came experienced light touch policing."

 

Asked why they had not arranged a park or other open air venue for fans, ACC Curran said their research had showed people would not have been prepared to travel outside the city centre.

 

2,000 calls

 

Ambulance bosses took 2,000 calls between 7pm and 7am.

 

They treated around 500 people overnight but had to withdraw from parts of the city centre at 8pm when the violence began and then worked with police escort.

 

There were no problems at the other two fan zones in Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens. Police say until violence flared at Piccadilly there had been only eight arrests, they praised the rest of the fans for creating a carnival atmosphere.

 

Today Eddie Smith, managing director of Lightmedia Display, of Bradford, which provided all the screens used for the fan zones, said a “technical signalling problem” was to blame for the glitch in the Piccadilly zone.

 

He said: “We deeply regret and are very disappointed at the failure of the signal to the screen in Piccadilly Gardens last night - it was due to a technical signalling problem that we are still investigating.

 

“Despite all our efforts to strengthen the signal to the screen it proved impossible. Our other screens in the city worked perfectly. We are extremely sorry and we fully recognise what a blow this was to the thousands of fans hoping to watch the match.”

 

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1049800_what_went_wrong

Traffic chaos follows riot

 

THE GREAT return home by tens of thousands of disappointed Rangers fans caused huge congestion problems on motorways and at main line rail stations during the aftermath of last night’s match.

 

Train operating companies and transport police were faced with ‘unprecedented’ numbers of passengers wanting to travel back north.

 

Manchester’s mainline Piccadilly Station had to be closed for a time after crowds of angry supporters converged there following the failure of the big screen in Piccadilly Gardens.

 

And there were particular problems on the M6 when the Burton service station near Carnforth had to be closed after running out of fuel.

 

Police said the sheer number of vehicles caused delays and congestion, but there were no major incidents associated with the returning fans.

 

Rail services from Manchester’s mainline Piccadilly station were expected to be extremely busy throughout today, as fans continued to make the slow return north.

 

Passengers were being advised to use alternative stations across the city wherever possible, including travellers to Liverpool, Blackpool, Southport and Wigan, who were being directed to Deansgate and Oxford Road stations.

 

Exceptionally busy

 

All services outbound to Carlisle, Newcastle, Glasgow Central and Edinburgh will be exceptionally busy, and travellers were being warned that normal service is not expected to be resumed until late afternoon today.

 

A spokesman for British Transport Police said: “BTP is urging supporters and local people using the railway to be mindful that services will once again be busy today, and a number of trains out of Manchester will be over-subscribed.

 

“For that reason we are urging people to show patience and understanding and wherever possible stagger their return time out of Manchester to avoid further congestion.”

 

He said: “Up to 25,000 fans travelled to Manchester for the match – an unprecedented number - and obviously they are returning the same way.

 

“We had problems at some stations, particularly last night, mainly because of the numbers of people involved. Many wanted to return home immediately after the game, and it put an incredible amount of pressure on services.

 

“Large numbers of fans presented themselves at Piccadilly Station in an attempt to leave the city by train after the failure of the big screen, and this resulted in capacity issues at the station which was temporarily closed to ensure the safety of supporters.”

 

Isolated incidents

 

He said there were also isolated incidents of disorder at Piccadilly, along with Oxford Road and Deansgate stations, and BTP officers who were out in force throughout the night, made eight arrests: five in Manchester, and three others in Preston, Blackpool and Penrith.

 

BTP said around 7,000 fans had travelled into the city from Blackpool alone, which caused capacity problems on services for returning fans after the match.

 

Lancashire Police mounted a special operation to position extra officers at key points including Preston and Blackpool railway stations which they said filtered thousands of travelling Rangers fans.

 

Operation Hector also had officers at motorway service stations including Bolton West and Forton, but a spokesman said though routes had been very busy, there had been no serious incidents.

 

Cumbria Police said the Burton Service area, regularly used as a refuelling point for drivers heading north, had run out of petrol because of the huge numbers of vehicles on the road.

 

A spokesman said: “It caused some delays and confusion for a time, and drivers were advised to continue up the motorway."

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1049783_traffic_chaos_follows_riot

Battle of Piccadilly

 

VIOLENT clashes between police and Rangers fans cast a shadow over Manchester's world-recording breaking UEFA cup party.

 

An estimated 200,000 Scottish supporters had turned the streets into a sea of blue ahead of their team's 2-0 defeat to Russian side Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester stadium.

 

But trouble flared after a technical fault meant 20,000 fans gathered at Piccadilly Gardens to watch the match on a huge screen were left with no picture.

 

The screen at first showed a message saying the problem was being sorted out.

 

But about 15 minutes into the game, it shut down completely. Thousands of Rangers fans, who had climbed on trucks, portaloos and statues to catch a look of the game, suddenly began to leave, watched by a police helicopter circling above.

 

Soon, railings surrounding the fanzone had been torn down as angry supporters began squabbling and scuffling between themselves. By the time police arrived, tempers had reached fever pitch. A number of fans were hit with batons, and officers had to use riot shields to protect themselves from bottles and cans hurled at them in Oldham Street.

 

Reinforcements

 

The police called for reinforcements as around 200 fans rushed to the scene and began hurling abuse.

 

Around 60 officers with riot shields launched a dozen baton charges to force the group back towards the Gardens. Meanwhile police and fans had running clashes on Market Street as bottles were hurled at officers. Elsewhere there were reports of cars being overturned, while six people were arrested after a Zenit fan was stabbed inside the stadium.

 

There were further baton charges and clashes along Market Street after midnight.

 

An eye-witness said there were ugly scenes as fans continued to hurl missiles despite being warned to leave the area. They were eventually chased from Piccadilly station approach down towards Piccadilly Gardens as more police vans and Tactical Aid Unit officers arrived.

 

A police spokesman revealed that 1,500 officers were on duty for the event, but they had to draft in an extra 300 to deal with the disturbances.

 

Asst Chief Constable Justice Curran said she was `sickened' that a minority of fans had turned to mindless violence and said she was `saddened and disappointing' by the events in Piccadilly.

 

Assaulted

 

She said some officers were assaulted, but none was seriously injured.

 

Everyone was putting the blame on the TV screen failure in Piccadilly Gardens.

 

One angry Piccadilly fan said: "We've been sat here since 12 o'clock waiting on the game coming on. The coverage started at seven o'clock and then five minutes later the screen's off. It's an absolute shambles."

 

Police said a small number of supporters who had been largely well-behaved became frustrated and started to pelt the screen with beer bottles.

 

A `significant minority' of fans then began to confront officers and began to throw bottles.

 

The spokesman said: "GMP would like to stress that the vast majority of supporters have behaved impeccably and came to Manchester clearly intent on enjoying the carnival atmosphere.

 

"The behaviour of supporters in the other two fan zones and in other parts of the city centre was excellent.

 

"Up until the screen went down in Piccadilly Gardens, there had been a total of eight arrests across the city."

 

Investigation

 

The council has launched an investigation into why the screen failed. Council leader Sir Richard Leese said: "I think it is clear that if we had not had this trouble it [the violence] would not have happened."

 

When the giant screen went down, the council arranged for emergency buses to ship the fans to a reserve screen at the Velodrome, just a few hundred yards from the stadium.

 

But it was too late to stop the trouble.

 

By 9.30pm ambulances were no longer being sent into the city centre unless accompanied by a police escort that could take them directly to Accident and Emergency.

 

A spokeswoman said the decision was taken to protect `the safety of crews'.

 

The A&E department at Manchester Royal Infirmary was kept `very busy.'

 

An official said there was a constant stream of walking wounded and people worse for wear due to drink.

 

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1049714_battle_of_piccadilly

 

picture gallery at the article

looking at the direction the police line was in. they were stopping more fans coming to join the riot in Piccadilly. they all had their backs to Piccadilly

I did atually try and warn Manchester about this.

I posted a translated artical from a Spanish newspaper called el pais. On the Manchester Evening website however they would not publish it.

 

I bet they wish they did it now.

 

Basically it was a open letter to the Rangers Fans to never come back to Barcelona again.

The warning from Barecelona that Manchester chose to ignore

 

 

LEASE, DON'T EVER COME BACK AGAIN

 

Dear Rangers supporters- never come back to Barcelona again. And not because your players themselves aren’t a legitimate team. No, it’s not because of that- the Nou Camp frequently hosts teams who are lazy, boring, who only defend, who run and kick their opponents, and who shouldn’t be in elite competition. On top of this, Rangers merely defend, run at the opposition and play dirty. Their defenders are butchers, their midfielders, heavy-footed; and their strikers just stand there like the furniture.

But even apart from the footballing aspect, the best thing would be for Rangers never to return to Barcelona, because every time they do, they make a mess of the place. 35 years ago, you (the Rangers supporters) destroyed the seats at the Nou Camp. This time we have enjoyed no less than 48 hours of brawls, provocation, rackets, fights and common drunk women throughout the whole city, which you have fouled however you pleased.

 

Stay at home and vomit in your own living-room, urinate in your sitting-room corners, fight with your neighbours, the Celtic supporters (who deserve a prize just for putting up with you) and foul the streets of Glasgow instead. Don’t come back here again, because it is not a laughing matter. And, by extension, don’t play in the Champions’ League either. You are not at that level neither in a sporting nor human sense.

 

There are noisy groups of supporters who, although they drink vast amounts of beer, make friends at the same time. But you? Not you, because everywhere you go, you turn into a rubbish tip. You are undesirables. And so are those who fraudulently sell, or “rent out” their tickets. These people screw Barca over, because they trade their season tickets illegally. And in doing this they cause massive annoyance for other members of the club. A true Barcelona fan would not re-sell their ticket for the match. If you are not going to the match, give it to a family member, or you could even use the 'Seient Lliure' service (an automated ticket service used by some Spanish clubs including Barcelona).

 

From now on, the responsibility lies with UEFA and the club itself to ensure who the ticket is sold to. The best thing for all of us would be that you as a supporter, in a moment of lucidity, decide not to travel if you do not have tickets. As that is never going to happen, those who sell the tickets illegally must be brought to justice. But the best thing would be if we never had to play Rangers again.

 

 

(Printed in El Mundo, 8/11/2007)

 

And I thought that Liverpool fans were bad !!

cctv footage here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7401188.stm

i still don't understand why you'd pay to travel with no ticket. why not stay at home & party in Glasgow.

good job the new council tax bills were issued at the beginning of last month

 

VIDEO: Thugs beat up Manchester cop here

 

AN URGENT investigation has begun into what sparked the rioting that spoiled Rangers' Uefa Cup party.

 

Police chiefs say they are "sickened and disappointed" by a minority of thugs who turned on police after a big screen failed and they were unable to watch the match.

 

Council chiefs this morning branded the trouble as "totally unacceptable".

 

Tempers flared when a giant screen in the Piccadilly Gardens fan zone failed moments before kick-off, meaning thousands of supporters were not able to see the match.

 

Richard Leese, leader of the council, rejected criticism of its plans insisting it was prepared for 100,000 fans.

 

He said: "We are having a full inquiry into the failure of the screen in Piccadilly Gardens.

 

"The vast majority of fans spent a peaceful evening in our city centre in a spirit of friendship and respect. But this has been spoiled by the bad behaviour of a minority.

 

"We cannot tolerate missiles and bottles being thrown. Technical problem or no technical problem there is no excuse for that behaviour, it is simply not acceptable."

 

Five men were arrested over the stabbing of a Russian fan at the City of Manchester stadium, where Rangers lost 2-0 to Zenit St Petersburg. And 37 others were arrested for a variety of public order offences.

 

The violence left 15 police officers, two paramedics and a police dog with a series of injuries including a broken arm, dislocated shoulder and cracked ribs. One officer had to undergo surgery to remove his earpiece after it was punched inside his head.

 

Ambulance chiefs say it was one of their busiest nights and they treated 500 people, although they were forced to wait for police escorts before going to parts of the city centre. Almost 150 were treated at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, mostly for drink-related problems and minor injuries.

 

Around 60 officers with riot shields launched a dozen baton charges to force a group back towards the Gardens where the trouble broke out. Meanwhile police and fans had running clashes on Market Street as bottles were hurled at officers.

 

Elsewhere there were reports of cars being overturned while six people were arrested after a Zenit fan was stabbed inside the stadium.

 

There were further baton charges and clashes along Market Street after midnight.

 

An eye-witness said there were ugly scenes as fans continued to hurl missiles despite being warned to leave.

 

They were eventually chased from Piccadilly station down towards Piccadilly Gardens as more vans and Tactical Aid Unit officers arrived.

 

A police spokesman revealed that 1500 officers were on duty for the event, but they had to draft in an extra 300 to deal with the disturbances.

 

Assistant chief constable Justine Curran said: "A minority of thugs have overshadowed what should have been a great occasion. I watched them commit damage, assault my officers and I'm really sickened and disappointed."

 

A massive clean-up operation was under way today as Manchester took a deep breath and began dealing with the aftermath of the mayhem.

 

The city centre was strewn with 250,000 tonnes of rubbish, with many areas left looking like a giant waste tip.

 

Mr Leese said: "The clean up has started. It will take a short time and the city centre will soon be back to normal.

 

"What will take longer to clean up is the damage done to Glasgow and Manchester's reputation by a very small minority of fans."

 

The return home by tens of thousands of disappointed Rangers fans caused huge congestion problems on motorways and at main line rail stations during the aftermath of last night's match.

 

Train operating companies and transport police were faced with unprecedented' numbers of passengers wanting to travel back north.

 

Police said the sheer number of vehicles caused delays and congestion, but there were no major incidents associated with the returning fans.

 

Meanwhile, in Glasgow, Strathclyde Police said 17 fans were arrested last night outside Ibrox Stadium, where the match was being shown to 30,000 fans on a massive screen.

 

Martin Bain, chief executive of Rangers said today: "The club has had discussions with Greater Manchester Police and Manchester City Council in view of incidents in the city last night.

 

"The police and council praised the behaviour of the overwhelming majority of Rangers fans and estimates suggest there could have been around 200,000 in the city yesterday.

 

"There was a tremendous atmosphere all around the city and the vast majority deserved credit for the way they behaved.

 

"The police and council have identified the failure of a big screen in the city as a key point in the evening.

 

"We are deeply disappointed that a small minority soured what was great carnival atmosphere."

 

http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/display.var.2272559.0.0.php

I have read a few reports from people that were there, and they said it was insane. When the screen didn't work, they flipped out started beating the shit out of each other, not just punching but stomping, hitting women and kids.

 

I'm sure the Russian police were watching with extreme interest. Will it cause them to alter their security plan for the Champions League final? I'm sure they will now be even less likely to tolerate much of anything. I predict some deaths because they aren't going to fuck about. First sign of trouble, they'll shoot to kill.

i still don't understand why you'd pay to travel with no ticket. why not stay at home & party in Glasgow.

And when your team loses, how are you going to stab a Russian at home in your family room to "celebrate"? Think woman think! :rolleyes: :laugh3: