Source: Team_Talk
Gers fans jailed over final rampage
All but one of 12 rioting hooligans who took part in the worst destruction Manchester has suffered "since the blitz" will be going to jail.[LNB] They were among hundreds of Rangers fans who caused "mayhem" at the UEFA Cup final held in the city two years ago.[LNB]Police were attacked and property damaged in the hours of violence in the city centre, and two police officers - Mick Regan and John Goodwin - were caught by the mob, surrounded and battered.[LNB]Judge Andrew Blake had indicated 11 of the 12 were going to jail and had sentenced eight of the defendants before a fire alarm caused Manchester Crown Court to be evacuated temporarily.[LNB]Several defendants put thumbs up to weeping relatives in the public gallery as they were led down to the cells.[LNB]But then Scottish accents could be heard shouting up to the courtroom: "F*** Manchester! F*** Pc Regan and Goodwin as well!"[LNB]Passing sentence, Judge Andrew Blake said: "The riot police were deployed in full riot gear and struggled to contain the trouble and restore order.[LNB]"What followed was the worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the blitz.[LNB]"What came afterwards, the damage, the filth and litter was apparent to all who arrived in Manchester the following day.[LNB]"Many more than these 12 were involved. It had nothing to do with football rivalries but everything to do with drink.[LNB]"The anger of the mob was directed at the police doing their best to restore order."[LNB]There were gasps from the public gallery as he jailed Scott McSeveney for three and a half years for violent disorder and the assault on Pc John Goodwin.[LNB]Pc Goodwin was separated from his detachment, outnumbered by tens of fans and attacked.[LNB]He was stamped on and kicked and said later he thought of tragic fellow officer Keith Blakelock and thought he was going to die at the hands of the mob.[LNB]He was only saved after a Rangers fan, Sharon Gibson, lay across him and her boyfriend shouted: "You are letting the team down!"[LNB]Ms Gibson was awarded the "paltry but conventional sum" of £200 by Judge Blake, who thanked her and paid tribute to her "enormous courage".[LNB]McSeveney, 22, of Shotts, Lanarkshire, was convicted after trial of the offences and also given an eight-year football banning order.[LNB]Mark Stoddart, 27, of Glasgow, was jailed for two and a half years for violent disorder and assaulting Pc Mick Regan and also given an eight-year football banning order.[LNB]Both men and the other defendants were captured after being identified through CCTV footage taken during the riots.[LNB]An estimated 125,000 Rangers fans, most without tickets, descended on the city.[LNB]Trouble erupted in a fan zone after a giant screen in Piccadilly Gardens in the city centre failed close to kick-off time.[LNB]The match, which Rangers lost to Zenit St Petersburg, was supposed to be a "celebration of football" but descended into carnage.[LNB]Riot police said they had never encountered disorder of such "ferocity and intensity".[LNB]When the hearing resumed, Judge Blake sentenced the remaining defendants.[LNB]John Saunders, 32, from Cumbernauld, Glasgow, who attacked a police van and threw a bottle at heavily outnumbered officers, was already serving a sentence for carrying an offensive weapon and due to be released in four days.[LNB]Instead he was given another sentence of 15 months for violent disorder and a football banning order of six years.[LNB]Gordon Forrest, 36, from Bearsden, Glasgow, was involved in running battles with police, kicking and pushing the riot shield of one officer and inciting others as hooligans swarmed around a police van to attack the vehicle.[LNB]He was jailed for 14 months for violent disorder and given a six-year football banning order.[LNB]Thomas Murphy, 28, of Greenock, Renfrewshire, threw bottles at police. He already has a series of convictions for violence and was jailed for 14 months for violent disorder and given a six-year football banning order.[LNB]Brian McVicar, 20, of East Kilbride, who threw two bottles at police, was sent to a young offenders' institution for 21 months for violent disorder and given a six-year banning order.[LNB]His brother-in-law, Greg McKenna, 23, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, also threw a bottle at police and was jailed for 18 months for the same offence and given a six-year football banning order.[LNB]David McCullough, 21, of Burnage, Manchester, also threw a bottle at police and was jailed for six months for violent disorder and given a six-year football banning order.[LNB]Michael Hindle, 22, from Leyland, Lancashire, was seen throwing a bottle at police. He was jailed for eight months for violent disorder and given a six-year football banning order.[LNB]James Bell, 43, of Cumbernauld, Glasgow, threw four or five missiles at police. He was sent to prison for 12 months for violent disorder with a six-year football banning order.[LNB]Unemployed William McSporran, 18, of Glasgow, threw bottles at police and also has a conviction for carrying a knife at an Orange Order march. He was sentenced to 12 months in a young offenders' institution for violent disorder and given a six- year football banning order.[LNB]David Annette, 35, of Chorley, Lancashire, was the only one to be spared jail. He has a job and no previous convictions and pleaded guilty to violent disorder.[LNB]He was given a six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months and ordered to do 180 hours' community service. He must also pay £500 costs.[LNB]After passing sentence on the last defendant, Judge Blake praised police for their investigation and said thank you on behalf of the citizens of Manchester.[LNB]Outside court, the match commander for the game, Chief Superintendent Gerry Donnellan, from Greater Manchester Police, said: "Today's results are for the people of Manchester and for genuine football fans everywhere.[LNB]"The city of Manchester has never forgotten what happened that night. May 14 2008 is a night when shameful violence marred what should have been a wonderful football showcase."
