The cup matches are when fans are at their passionate best/worst and emotions are running high. The darker side of football fans has emerged again as Manchester United and Everton fans engaged in a mass brawl before their clubs’ FA Cup semi-final clash at the Wembley Stadium.
In a shocking clip which has emerged online, a man in a black t-shirt is seen holding a man dressed in Everton colours by the throat. In the video, they are surrounded by on-lookers and are exchanging blows. Supposedly, the man in black is a United supporter.
A third man in black t-shirt enters the fight and knocks the Everton fan to the floor with one blow to his face. He struggles to get up and is led away by fellow Everton fans.
The brawl took place at the Cannock service station in Staffordshire near London. The Cannock services is a rest stop for supporter-coaches en-route to London and is going to be used by more than 57 coaches, carrying the rival sets of fans for today’s match at the Wembley Stadium, raising concerns of more violence.
The brawl occurred inspite of police patrolling the stations to deter this kind of violence. A police spokesperson confirmed that such an event had occurred but by the time they reached the spot, the crowd had already dispersed.
He added that no arrests have been made. The spokesperson also said that the stations would be patrolled for “reassurance” that no such incidents would take place again.
A witness said, “The Everton lad ended up in a bad way. I didn't see the fight but I saw him struggling to get to his feet afterwards."
Claiming that the brawl had resulted in blood being spilt, another witness added, “"At the services.....kickoffs at Cannock....blood spilt”.
This is not the first such incident this year for both sets of fans. Everton fans had earlier been involved in violence after their team's win over Manchester City at Goodison Park in the Capital One cup in January. United and Liverpool fans were also involved in a similar brawl at Old Trafford when the two teams faced off in the Europa League quarter-finals.
Manchester United face Everton in the semi-final of the FA Cup at the Wembley stadium today which seems to be a do or die game for managers of both clubs.
