Do More With Reuters
Partner Services

UPDATE 1-Soccer-Britain to review drinking powers after UEFA Cup

Thu May 15, 2008 11:13pm IST
 
Email | Print | | Single Page
[-] Text [+]

(Updates with fans charged, paragraphs 4,5)

LONDON, May 15 (Reuters) - Britain will review police powers to stop violent public drunkenness, fearing clashes surrounding Wednesday's UEFA Cup final in Manchester may hinder bids to host major soccer events, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

The decision announced on Thursday followed fighting between Scottish fans and riot police in the centre of the northern English city after Zenit St Petersburg's 2-0 win over Rangers, resulting in 42 arrests with 15 police being injured.

A Russian fan was stabbed in the back at the stadium before the match although the wound was not life threatening.

Manchester police said on Thursday that 11 Rangers' fans, all men, had been charged with criminal offences stemming from the violence, including one charged with assault and one with throwing a missile.

Twelve Rangers' fans were given a caution and 11 more were freed on bail pending further investigation, the police said.

"We do have laws that enable us to control drinking in public places where there is a risk of disorder and we will have to look at these laws for the future," Brown told his monthly news conference.

"I want to do everything to avoid us being put in a position where we might be at risk of an application, for example, for the 2018 World Cup not being acceptable because of this."

The fighting erupted when a giant screen showing the match to thousands of ticketless fans, many of whom had been drinking all day, broke down.  Continued...

Pigeons fly in front of Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai November 26, 2009. Mumbai's police paraded past some of the city's landmarks in a show of strength as India's financial hub marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratched up tensions with Pakistan. The hotel was one of the sites of the attacks. REUTERS/Arko Datta
One Year Later

Mumbai held tearful memorials and police staged a show of strength as it marked the first anniversary of militant raids that killed 166 people and ratcheted up tensions with Pakistan.  Slideshow | Full Coverage 

A supporter of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) holds a picture of BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani during an election campaign rally in Balasinor, about 90 km (56 miles) east of Ahmedabad, April 14, 2009. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Liberhan Commission Report

The government published a long awaited report, recently leaked, accusing BJP leaders of a role in the 1992 destruction of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya.  Full Article 

Thierry Henry's handball scandal

Barcelona's Thierry Henry takes part in a training session at Nou Camp Stadium in Barcelona, November 23, 2009. Barcelona and Inter Milan will play their soccer Champions League match on Tuesday. REUTERS/Albert Gea
FIFA to hold meeting

FIFA to hold an extraordinary meeting before World Cup draw to discuss Thierry Henry's handball in the qualifiers and discovery of match-fixing ring by German police.  Full Article