Police move in to separate rival fans

Feb 25 2009 by Graham Miller, Wishaw Press

POLICE were forced to intervene and stop trouble flaring after a group of Motherwell fans tried to create mayhem in Paisley town centre last Tuesday night following the Fir Park club’s Homecoming Scottish Cup replay defeat to St Mirren.

Around 30 casuals attempted to attack Saints fans as they made their way home from the match.

But before anyone was seriously hurt in the fracas, police swooped to separate the visitors from local fans, before sending them on their way.

Police confirmed that no arrests were made after they acted quickly to stop any flare-up of violence.

Inspector Robin Young at Paisley police station confirmed there had been an incident but said it was nothing his officers could not handle.

He said: “There were no arrests made as we stepped in before anything really happened – they were facing-off, but no-one had been hurt.

“It was a job well done by our officers. We always walk supporters back to the station and even get on buses and trains to make sure they don’t square up.”

Alan Burrows, Motherwell’s press and media manager, said: “I wasn’t aware of this disturbance having taken place. However, it goes without saying that the club abhor and actively discourage unacceptable conduct both inside and outside of football grounds.

“We pride ourselves on being a family-orientated club and it’s very disappointing to hear of incidents like this.

“We only recently joined forces with British Transport Police to sign up to a formal information-sharing protocol. This shows our commitment to weeding out any troublemakers.”

The joint initiative with British Transport Police means that any Motherwell supporters involved in anti-social behaviour or disorder anywhere on the rail network or Glasgow subway can now have their details passed to the club - and run the risk of having their season tickets confiscated and a football banning order imposed.

There were skirmishes between Motherwell and St Mirren fans prior to the first tie between the clubs, which was held at Fir Park on February 7.

On that occasion, a police helicopter was deployed after the match to deter any further disorder.

However, Alan Burrows rejected any claims of a problem between the two sets of fans. He said: “We have an excellent working relationship with St Mirren and, to my knowledge, there is no grudge between our fans and theirs.”