Liverpool’s 5-2 win over AS Roma in the Champions League did have a sour note, even before the match started, as a supporter was attacked by rival fans and was left with serious injuries.
According to a report from the Liverpool Echo, a Roma fan was seen using a hammer during the attack outside Anfield and the incident is being looked into by the police.
Photos on Twitter showed an away supporter, apparently, carrying a hammer before the game and the same could have been used in the attack.
Pre-match trouble outside Anfield started when group of Roma fans arrived via Venmore St, burst on to Walton Breck Rd & attacked, many using belts. #LFC fan knocked to floor & received lengthy medical treatment. Skirmishes, projectiles, at least 1 hammer in hand, police arrived pic.twitter.com/Yaby4q5f0Y
— David Ornstein (@bbcsport_david) April 24, 2018
The report also went on to claim that the 53-year-old fan picked up head injuries and was an innocent bystander, as a number of fans from the Italian side were seen using their belts as a weapon.
Dave Charnock of Merseyside Police was quoted after the match was over and said:
“The vast majority of the 52,500 fans attending the game were well behaved and went to watch a good game of football.
“However, a minority of fans from both Liverpool and Roma were involved in isolated pockets of disorder in the city centre and near to the ground.
“We will be reviewing CCTV footage, our own body worn camera footage and working with the club to identify those involved in any of these incidents so we can put them before the courts.”
The police have arrested nine people between the ages of 20 and 43 and the fans were questioned regarding a number of offences, which include criminal damage, possession of offensive weapons and being drunk and disorderly.
That is not all. The police are also keeping a track on the use of flares and fireworks by our supporters prior to the clash against Roma as the authorities had explicitly warned the fans not to use the same.
