Football thugs brought ‘terror’ to the streets as rival fans clashed in ‘disgraceful’ scenes ahead of a Manchester United game. Fans of United and bitter rivals Leeds United clashed in Manchester city centre ahead of a crunch Premier League fixture.
Six of those involved have been hauled before a judge for their part in the ugly scenes prior to the match. There were ‘running battles’, with chairs and bins being used as weapons.
The manager of a nearby Cafe Nero shut its doors after being ‘horrified’ at what she was witnessing on a busy Saturday morning. Other businesses were forced to close for the day because of the disorder. A number of those who faced justice were told they had come ‘very close’ to being sent to prison.
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“This was a disgraceful episode,” Judge Nicholas Dean KC told them during a sentencing hearing at Manchester Crown Court. “It is an episode that brings shame on you, and shame on the football club that you purport to support.
“Rivalry, indeed enmity between Manchester United and Leeds United is well known to be long standing, and gave rise to violence certainly in the 1970s and 1980s when most of you were very young.
“It had largely dissipated or disappeared. It revived itself on August 14, 2021. You were oblivious to the fear and terror that your actions and that of others would have instilled in others.”
Gary Stevenson, 43, Daniel Campbell, 20, Graham Jones, 51, Jordan Fassam, 40, Paul Lingings, 40, and John Catterall, 46, were all handed suspended prison sentences and football banning orders.
The judge told them that they were ‘men of an age who mostly ought to have known a lot better’. He added: “To say that you should be ashamed of yourself is to understate how you behaved. You behaved with brutality, with what might in other circumstances be said to be animalistic behaviour. You behaved in a thuggish and primitive way.”
Prosecutors told how the violent disorder occurred at about 10.30am on Saturday, August 14, 2021. It was the first day of the Premier League season with United due to play Leeds at Old Trafford at 12.30pm, in a game United later won 5-1, helped by a Bruno Fernandes hat-trick.
Tom Sherrington, prosecuting, told how some Leeds fans were drinking on Albert Square, while some United fans were walking along Princess Street towards the ground. The rival fans exchanged verbal abuse and some items were thrown.
Police stepped in to separate the supporters, with officers moving the United fans down John Dalton Street and then onto Deansgate. Mr Sherrington said a group of Leeds fans made their way down Lloyd Street, towards where the United fans had been moved to.
Prosecutors said that a ‘large number of males engaged in physical violence’ outside Cafe Nero on the corner of Lloyd Street and Deansgate. “Numerous items were thrown including chairs, traffic cones, signs, mugs, bottles and flares,” Mr Sherrington said. Shocking video footage showed the fracas unfold, with a bin being used as a weapon in one incident.
The manager of the Cafe Nero store locked the entrance door for a few minutes while the ugly scenes continued. She was ‘horrified’ to see ‘chairs and bins being used as weapons’. Police intervened again and the Leeds fans retreated back up Lloyd Street.
The six men were picked out from CCTV footage which was analysed by police. Fassam and Lingings were both seen throwing a punch, while Catterall was seen kicking out at a man. Campbell picked up a chair and pursued opposition fans for a short distance. Stevenson and Jones were also said to have been ‘actively involved’ in the disorder.
Rebecca Clarke, the store manager of Cafe Nero, said her staff were ‘very shaken up’ by the incident. The Slug and Lettuce pub on Albert Square was forced to shut for a time because of the violence.
A shopkeeper on Lloyd Street shut for the day because he feared for his safety, while a barber on the same street could only deal with a limited number of clients because of the disorder.
Lawyers acting on behalf of the six defendants appealed for them to be spared jail. Stevenson’s barrister Alex Bennie said the defendant is a bricklayer who has worked with the same colleague for 20 years. He said his colleague’s work would be affected if Stevenson were to be jailed.
Isobel Thomas, for Jones, said the defendant was ‘hard working’ and a ‘family man’ who has become a grandfather. She said that Jones, a logistics liaison engineer, was ‘embarrassed’ by his behaviour.
Alex Bennie, who also represented Fassam, said the defendant works as a fundraiser for a charity supporting veterans. He said the dad-of-two has had a ‘long standing’ addiction to cocaine which he has cut down on ‘considerably’. Ms Thomas, who also represented Lingings, said the defendant has worked as an electrician for 20 years and has lived a ‘normal, law abiding life’.
She said the defendant is ‘ashamed’ of his actions, describing them as a ‘serious error of judgement’. Emily Woodside, for Catterall, said the defendant, who has recently become a grandfather, ‘feels a great deal of shame’.
She said he has cut down on his drinking and now watches football matches at home or in the pub. Charlotte Phillips said Campbell ‘punished himself’ following the incident by giving up his season ticket. She said Campbell, an apprentice who was 17 at the time, became ‘caught up in the chaos’ and he is now ‘embarrassed’ by his behaviour.
Stevenson, of Worcester Close, Chesterfield; Campbell, of Abney Road, Mossley; Jones, of Lomond Grove, Ellesmere Port; Fassam, of Margate Road, Kent; Lingings, of Horrocks Street, Tyldesley; and Catterall, of Whit Lane, Salford, all pleaded guilty to violent disorder.
The sentences in full:
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Gary Stevenson – he was sentenced to 22 months in prison, suspended for two years. He must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 prosecution costs. He was banned from attending football matches for five years.
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Daniel Campbell – he was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years. He must carry out 120 hours of unpaid work and pay £500 prosecution costs. He was banned from attending football matches for three years.
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Graham Jones – he was sentenced to 21 months in prison, suspended for two years. He must carry out 180 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 prosecution costs. He was banned from attending football matches for five years.
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Jordan Fassam – he was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years. He must complete a 12 month drug rehabilitation program and 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days. He was banned from attending football matches for three years.
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Paul Lingings – he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. He must carry out 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £1,000 prosecution costs. He was banned from attending football matches for three years.
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John Catterall – he was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years. He must carry out 220 hours of unpaid work and 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and was ordered to pay £1,000 prosecution costs. He was banned from attending football matches for five years.
