English police are investigating a riot that resulted in a teenage girl being injured during a 3-2 match between Manchester City and Liverpool last Thursday in the League Cup.
The 15-year-old suffered a head injury that was being treated on the pitch, and a fan was arrested for a serious racist disorderly conduct.
Some disabled fans were subjected to racist slurs during Thursday’s game.
On Friday, Greater Manchester Police said two men were arrested on suspicion of trying to smuggle fireworks into the field. A 53-year-old man was taken to hospital after being attacked off the pitch after the match.
According to Police Superintendent Gareth Parkin, police are looking into CCTV footage.
“We are aware of a number of things, including coins and a smoke bomb, that were thrown during the match,” Parkin said.
The riots occurred despite attempts by both clubs to improve fan behavior during any confrontation between them.
Liverpool and Manchester City issued a joint official statement after yesterday’s match at the Al Ittihad Stadium in the 16th round of the Carabao Football League Cup.
Liverpool and Manchester City said in a joint statement on Friday: “The two clubs and heads of fan groups have been working together in recent weeks to remind fans of our expectations and both clubs would like to thank the vast majority of fans for their behavior in Yesterday’s Carabao Cup match at the Etihad Stadium It’s great that a number of completely unacceptable incidents took place during yesterday’s game.
These incidents will be fully investigated, reported to the police, and those found guilty will be subject to sanctions by their club. Liverpool and Manchester City are fully committed to working together to remove these issues from our schedule of matches that have no place in football.”
Source: agencies