Rangers fans 'went on the rampage'

Sep 2 2010

A "celebration of football" ended in mayhem and violence as Rangers hooligans went on the rampage, a court heard.

Riot police fought hand-to-hand running battles with hundreds of drunken fans of the Glasgow club, who showered officers with bottles and other missiles, Manchester Crown Court heard. The violence was captured on CCTV footage and shown to the court on Thursday as 12 men sat in the dock awaiting sentence for their part in the trouble in the city as it hosted the Uefa Cup Final in May 2008.

They were arrested after police publicised CCTV footage of the hours of violence during and after the Scottish club's 2-0 defeat to Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium. An estimated 125,000 Rangers fans, most without tickets, descended on the city drinking pubs and supermarkets dry, the court heard.