Ten football fans knifed in Chelsea battle
A man remains in hospital today with wounds to the buttocks, after at least 10 people were stabbed as hardcore soccer violence erupted on the streets of west London.
Drinkers fled as running battles broke out between about 40 thugs carrying knives, baseball bats, wooden clubs embedded with nails and hockey sticks. Police arrested 34 men, including seven who were taken to hospital suffering from stab wounds and head injuries. All were later released except one, who remained in hospital today with stab wounds to the buttocks. His condition is not life-threatening.
The riot began outside the White Horse pub in Parsons Green, known as the "Sloaney Pony", following a dramatic FA Cup clash between Chelsea and Spurs.
Police believe it was either a prearranged fight organised over mobile phones and the internet or Tottenham hooligans had ambushed Chelsea fans "in their own backyard". One witness said: "It was pandemonium, I've never seen scenes like it. It was a battlefield in the middle of Fulham's smartest area on a Sunday evening. I was on Parsons Green itself having a quiet drink with friends - nothing to do with the football.
"Suddenly there was a lot of loud shouting and screaming and we saw a huge mob fighting outside the Sloaney Pony, smashing each other with baseball bats and anything they could get their hands on. People were fleeing in all directions, it was chaos. "I ran off down a street but could hear the rioting going on from half a mile away. About five minutes later the police sirens started and carried on all night." Dozens of officers, including vans of riot police on standby and a police helicopter, were scrambled to the scene.
The injured men were taken to various west London hospitals. They included a 40-year-old from Plumstead who suffered head and chest injuries, a 52-year-old from Kentish Town, a 41-year-old from Chigwell and a 31-year-old from Bedfordshire. There was no violence at the match, which was policed by 600 officers.
Huge crowds had gathered outside the White Horse in the afternoon after the match which is a traditional drinking venue on Chelsea match days. The violence erupted at just after 8pm and took up to an hour to bring under control. Police recovered knives, baseball bats, wood laced with nails and hockey sticks.
A police source said: "Clearly there was a degree of organisation. These guys had not turned up with sticks and bats to play a game of hockey or baseball. We are trying to establish whether it was a pre-arranged setpiece fight or if it was one group of organised hooligans setting upon another. We have a lot of people in custody and will be talking to them all to try to see what was behind this".
