Articles | Football hooligans footage released

Football hooligans footage released

Published: Wednesday, 28 January 2009, 9:44AM

Police have released new video footage of an officer being kicked and stamped on by football hooligans in an attempt to catch the culprits.

PC John Goodwin lost contact with the other officers in his detachment and was left surrounded by hundreds of Rangers thugs as rioting broke out during the Uefa Cup Final in Manchester last May.

He was knocked to the ground as yobs tried to pull his helmet off aiming kicks and stamps at his head before he lost consciousness.

Others screamed "Glass him!" but a couple managed to save him and colleagues came to his rescue. He came round as he was being put in a police van suffering swelling to his brain, cuts and severe bruising to his chest, shoulders and back.

An estimated 150,000 Rangers fans travelled to Manchester for the Glasgow club's match with Zenit St Petersburg at the City of Manchester Stadium on May 14.

But rioting broke out after a screen in the largest fan zone in Piccadilly, central Manchester, failed before kick-off.

It led to hours of running battles between hundreds of drunken ruffians pelting riot police with bottles and glasses.

PC Goodwin, 44, a father-of-two from Bacup, Lancs, spoke for the first time of his ordeal as police released the footage along with photos of 49 suspects they want to track down.

A police officer for 13 years, he was working on the Tactical Aid Unit when they were ordered to go to Piccadilly to quell the trouble.

"The disorder got a lot worse as time went on, and at some point we had vehicles that were trapped. We couldn't get the vehicles out of Piccadilly," PC Goodwin said.

"The crowd were surging. I mean the crowd was massive, it filled Newton Street from building line to building line, I wouldn't even like to guess how many people.

"And as the crowd surged, somehow I ended up being isolated from everybody else. I remember seeing somebody coming at me with a police baton, which they must have picked up, and striking at me."

PC Goodwin added: "It was just like a wave of people that covered me and I ended up on the floor. I remember as soon as I got to the floor I was being kicked and stamped on and all sorts.

"But I remember gripping hold of my chin strap because they were trying to pull my helmet off and I knew that if it had come off that would of been it, that would have been the end of me.

"I remember hearing a woman's voice saying 'You're all right, we've got you'. It was funny, I wasn't sure whether I'd dreamt it. They were a couple, who helped me. I've not met them again yet, but I owe them a lot and I'm very grateful to them.

"The next thing I remember I was being put in a police van by other officers."

Greater Manchester Police launched Operation Gale to find the people responsible, since last May officers have ploughed through hours of CCTV, identifying suspects.

Det Supt Geoff Wessell, who is leading the investigation, said: "May 14, 2008 is a night when shameful violence marred what should have been a wonderful football showcase.

"I ask that members of our community take a few minutes to view the images and, if they recognise anyone, they can fill in a simple on-line form with the offender's details, which can even be completed anonymously."