By Peter Hall
MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) – Greater Manchester Police are investigating several incidents of crowd trouble during Manchester City’s League Cup clash with Liverpool on Thursday night, including one that led to a 15-year-old girl being treated for head injuries.
The clubs issued a joint statement condemning the violence, which they called “hugely disappointing”. City won the match 3-2 to progress to the quarter finals.
Recent matches between the teams have been marred by trouble. City coach Pep Guardiola had coins thrown at him during a defeat at Anfield in October, while Liverpool later released a statement condemning “vile chants” relating to stadium tragedies.
“We are aware of a number of objects, including coins and a smoke bomb, that were thrown during (Thursday’s) match,” GMP’s match commander, Superintendent Gareth Parkin, said. “We will be investigating the incidents and reviewing CCTV from the night.”
Two men were arrested on suspicion of trying to take a pyrotechnic into the stadium and a male for a racially aggravated public order offence. A 53-year-old man was assaulted after the game, police said.
The clubs said such incidents were wholly unacceptable.
They were “are fully committed to working together to eradicate these issues from our fixtures. They have no place in football,” the joint statement said.
(Reporting by Peter Hall; editing by John Stonestreet)
