February 10, 2010
Disorder At Luton Town V Oxford United
TWO people were arrested last night after disorder broke out in connection with last night’s match at Luton Town Football Club.
The trouble appeared to start between supporters of Luton Town in the stand after a minority of fans became abusive towards Luton Town’s own stewards as the team beat Oxford 2-1.
While stewards would normally be responsible for security inside Kenilworth Road, they were forced to call for police support as the situation turned violent and stewards were attacked in the stands as they attempted to keep safety access routes clear.
Four officers received minor injuries as they tried to bring the situation under control, however by 10pm the ground was nearly empty and although the town centre was busy with some of the 8000 fans staying behind in pubs after the game, minor outbreaks of disorder were effectively dealt with by the policing operation.
Chief Superintendant Mike Colbourne, divisional commander for Luton, who was on duty at the time, said: “I am disappointed that an exciting sporting occasion, with a good crowd, was marred by these ugly scenes. Fortunately the outcome was not too serious in terms of injuries to my officers or other people.
“After some issues at the reverse fixture we had put on a lot of extra officers to police this game, including police horses. Although there were one or two outbreaks of disorder in town during the afternoon, we were pleased with the way it had gone up until fans started fighting amongst themselves in the home end during the match.
“We had a robust but fair policing presence in the town centre and outside the ground with in excess of 100 officers involved in the operation. When the police were required inside the ground in support of the club’s own stewards we dealt with that disorder and then moved to escort the Oxford fans away from the ground safely,” he said. “We’ll now be looking to see if any further arrests are necessary or possible.”
Anyone who can help identify those involved in this incident is urged to contact Bedfordshire Police, in confidence, on 01234 841212, or text 07786 200011, or contact Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
