' Football Club boss 'disappointed' at derby violence ' Pics
Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:41 am
' Oxford United Football Club boss 'disappointed' at derby violence '
BBC
10 October 2015
Botley Road was temporarily closed as scuffles broke out and flares were thrown.
A crowd over 9,500
The chief executive of Oxford United has said he is "disappointed" that violence broke out ahead of a derby match in the city.
Police in riot gear and mounted on horses made a number of arrests for alcohol-related and public disorder on Tuesday night in the city centre.
Club director Mark Ashton said: "It's the actions of the few that spoil it for the many."
Botley Road was closed as scuffles broke out and flares were thrown.
Thames Valley Police arranged in advance for Swindon fans to be taken to The One bar after they arrived at the train station.
Manager David Chu said: "There were some troubles outside of the building... the Swindon fans were getting hyped up for the game and probably had some disagreement with police.
"I think they wanted to make their way off to the Kassam Stadium... everything got out of hand.
"It's quite scary because it is a bit out of our control but the police handled everything quite well."
Riot police out before Oxford Utd and Swindon matchImage copyrightDuncan Watson-Parris
Image caption
Police in riot gear and mounted on horses made a number of arrests for alcohol-related and public disorder
Jey Yardley wrote on BBC Oxford's Facebook page: "I was there with my pregnant wife, it was terrifying, I've never been so scared."
Mr Ashton said: "I've been in football a long time and when you hear things like this it's always disappointing .
"The majority of Oxford fans I would have hoped behaved themselves... we were heavily policed... there was a huge plan put in action by our safety officer and a team at the stadium.
"The plan was executed extremely well and in the stadium things passed off fairly event-free.
"It was taken seriously. You look at the history of the game and what's happened in the past and how to steward and segregate fans, and in the stadium that went very well."
The BBC has asked Swindon Town Football Club for a comment.
The arrests made were:
A 41-year-old man from Swindon on suspicion of affray
A 42-year-old man from Swindon arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a Class A drug (cocaine)
A 47-year-old man from Swindon arrested on suspicion of affray
A 45-year-old man from Calne in Wiltshire arrested on suspicion of violent disorder
The men have all been released on bail.
In addition, a 19-year-old man from Oldham was arrested and cautioned for being drunk and disorderly in Didcot in an incident police say was also linked to the football match.
Local police area commander for Oxford, Christian Bunt, said: "This is a local derby and we have historically had alcohol-related crime and disorder problems associated with this.
"We worked closely with the football club to ensure the safety of all people attending the event and going about their daily lives in the city.
"Unfortunately, a small minority of supporters were intent on causing problems which resulted in disorder in Botley Road, near to the train station... a large number of people were also prevented from attending the match, due to their behaviour, and were escorted from the city."
Oxford United went on to beat Swindon Town 2-0 in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie.
BBC
10 October 2015
Botley Road was temporarily closed as scuffles broke out and flares were thrown.
A crowd over 9,500
The chief executive of Oxford United has said he is "disappointed" that violence broke out ahead of a derby match in the city.
Police in riot gear and mounted on horses made a number of arrests for alcohol-related and public disorder on Tuesday night in the city centre.
Club director Mark Ashton said: "It's the actions of the few that spoil it for the many."
Botley Road was closed as scuffles broke out and flares were thrown.
Thames Valley Police arranged in advance for Swindon fans to be taken to The One bar after they arrived at the train station.
Manager David Chu said: "There were some troubles outside of the building... the Swindon fans were getting hyped up for the game and probably had some disagreement with police.
"I think they wanted to make their way off to the Kassam Stadium... everything got out of hand.
"It's quite scary because it is a bit out of our control but the police handled everything quite well."
Riot police out before Oxford Utd and Swindon matchImage copyrightDuncan Watson-Parris
Image caption
Police in riot gear and mounted on horses made a number of arrests for alcohol-related and public disorder
Jey Yardley wrote on BBC Oxford's Facebook page: "I was there with my pregnant wife, it was terrifying, I've never been so scared."
Mr Ashton said: "I've been in football a long time and when you hear things like this it's always disappointing .
"The majority of Oxford fans I would have hoped behaved themselves... we were heavily policed... there was a huge plan put in action by our safety officer and a team at the stadium.
"The plan was executed extremely well and in the stadium things passed off fairly event-free.
"It was taken seriously. You look at the history of the game and what's happened in the past and how to steward and segregate fans, and in the stadium that went very well."
The BBC has asked Swindon Town Football Club for a comment.
The arrests made were:
A 41-year-old man from Swindon on suspicion of affray
A 42-year-old man from Swindon arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a Class A drug (cocaine)
A 47-year-old man from Swindon arrested on suspicion of affray
A 45-year-old man from Calne in Wiltshire arrested on suspicion of violent disorder
The men have all been released on bail.
In addition, a 19-year-old man from Oldham was arrested and cautioned for being drunk and disorderly in Didcot in an incident police say was also linked to the football match.
Local police area commander for Oxford, Christian Bunt, said: "This is a local derby and we have historically had alcohol-related crime and disorder problems associated with this.
"We worked closely with the football club to ensure the safety of all people attending the event and going about their daily lives in the city.
"Unfortunately, a small minority of supporters were intent on causing problems which resulted in disorder in Botley Road, near to the train station... a large number of people were also prevented from attending the match, due to their behaviour, and were escorted from the city."
Oxford United went on to beat Swindon Town 2-0 in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Re: ' Football Club boss 'disappointed' at derby violence '
Sat Oct 10, 2015 11:31 am
40-47 year olds! 
I dont know how theyve got the energy to be honest!!!
I dont know how theyve got the energy to be honest!!!
Re: ' Football Club boss 'disappointed' at derby violence '
Sat Oct 10, 2015 12:57 pm
griff105 wrote:40-47 year olds!
I dont know how theyve got the energy to be honest!!!
The arrests made were:
A 41-year-old man from Swindon on suspicion of affray
A 42-year-old man from Swindon arrested on suspicion of affray and possession of a Class A drug (cocaine)
A 47-year-old man from Swindon arrested on suspicion of affray
A 45-year-old man from Calne in Wiltshire arrested on suspicion of violent disorder
The men have all been released on bail.
In addition, a 19-year-old man from Oldham was arrested and cautioned for being drunk and disorderly in Didcot in an incident police say was also linked to the football match.
Re: ' Football Club boss 'disappointed' at derby violence '
Sat Oct 10, 2015 8:26 pm
griff105 wrote:40-47 year olds!
I dont know how theyve got the energy to be honest!!!
Bloody youngsters, 40 somethings who weren't old enough to be involved back in the day...
