Cardiff violence leads to tragedy fears

LONDON (AP) -- The fan violence that shamed English soccer two decades ago is creeping back, prompting fears that someone is going to get seriouly hurt or killed.

While the scenes of rampaging fans at Cardiff on Sunday took most of the gloss off the team's giantkilling FA Cup victory over Premier League leader Leeds, they also formed part of a trend.

While there is nothing like the violence that plagued the game in the late 1970s and early 1980s, culminating in the deaths of 39 people at the 1985 Champions Cup final between Liverpool and Juventus, there are signs that fans are going to games looking for trouble instead of watching the action.

A large number of the Cardiff fans who ran onto the Ninian Park field to celebrate their team's 2-1 victory over Leeds broke off to confront the visiting supporters.

The marauding fans were beaten back by baton-wielding police, some on horseback and some with dogs. Four fans were arrested and appeared in court on Wednesday. Their cases were adjourned.

Although there were no reports of serious injury, some club owners believe it's just a matter of time before someone gets badly hurt or killed.

Bristol City chief executive Colin Sexstone said his team's fans were subjected to a horrific ordeal at Ninian Park after a 3-1 win on Dec. 29.

"The FA has to take strong action or somebody will be seriously injured very soon -- or even killed," he said. "It's only by chance that it hasn't happened so far. To some, that might seem an over-the-top thing to say -- but it isn't."

Sexstone said that Cardiff fans hurled bricks, coins and even bottles of urine at Bristol City supporters and also at the buses taking them home.

"What happened against Leeds was very similar to our game there -- the only difference was that ours wasn't on television, so only affected the people who were there," Sextone said.

"We were in the boardroom and could only watch the frightening sight of them getting on the coaches with 3,000 to 4,000 Cardiff fans baying and them and only held back by police dogs," Sextone said.

"There were times when it looked as if that line wouldn't hold. Our fans -- women and kids as well as men -- were terrified. The coaches were wrecked by the things thrown. The back windows were smashed on many of them, showering our fans with glass.

"There were big bricks being hurled and the kids who were there were terrified as the coach windows were being put through. People were genuinely running for their lives to get on the coaches in the first place."

The violence isn't isolated to Ninian Park.

Fans of division two Bristol City attacked police at a pub in Oxford at the start of the season, while police are chasing 35 thugs who were at the center of a riot at a division one game between Coventry and Portsmouth in September. Fans of both teams fought with each other and with police at Highfield Road.

"We were all appalled at the level of violence at this match," said Detective chief inspector John Larkin, whose force has publicized posters of the wanted men.

"Most of it happened just below the disabled area and you can imagine the terror of those trapped inside and unable to get away from those engaged in this despicable behavior."

Although there were sporadic fights involving English and Germans fans before the World Cup qualifying game in Munich September 1, that game went off comparatively smoothly.

The violence at Cardiff and Coventry comes at a time when players are getting into trouble too.

Two Chelsea stars, John Terry and Jody Morris, and Wimbledon's Des Byrne appeared in court on Wednesday accused of affray and assault arising out of an incident in a club in central London. They denied the charges.

And Wolves issued a statement that its teen-age striker, Adam Proudlock, is due to appear in court next week charged with affray.

Several other players -- Titus Bramble of Ipswich, Manchester City's Steve Howey, Middlesbrough's Mark Summerbell, West Ham's Hayden Foxe and Allan Smart of Oldham -- have run into off-field trouble and been fined by their clubs for drink related misbehavior.

They all hit the headlines only days after Leeds stars Lee Bowyer and Jonathan Woodgate were eventually cleared of causing grievous bodily harm to a 19-year-old Asian student. Woodgate was found guilty of affray and ordered to do 100 hours community service and both were fined by the club for being involved in a late night drinking binge.

Terry, Morris, Chelsea colleague Eidur Gudjohnsen and Leicester's Frank Sinclair were fined by their clubs for drunken behavior at a Heathrow Airport hotel, witnessed by distressed Americans just a day after the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington.

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