Football fan from Stranraer says he needed 20 stitches on his head after attack

A football fan from Stranraer says he needed "20 stitches in the back of my head" after he was attacked with a nailed hammer on match day.

Kurt Davidson, 54, from Stranraer, travelled to Dundee to watch Rangers play in the Scottish Premiership at Dens Park on 9 January 2025.

The 54-year-old went to McDonald's in the city centre, where some Dundee fans were also eating. Kurt exchanged some 'light-hearted banter' with them but the 'Ultra' fans later followed him down the street, according to the Daily Record.

The dad-of-five was put into intensive care after the assault at Ninewells Hospital. Kurt suffered a violent hammer blow to the head as well as bruising believed to be caused by a blunt knife.

Kurt said: "“There were about 20 of them, at least, and they were all dressed in black. I got about 20 stitches in the back of my head from being hit with a hammer that had a nail lodged in it.“I also have a massive bruise from the blunt knife that they tried to stab me with. When I woke up in the hospital the next day I had a terrible concussion.

"I was told that I had asked the nurse to get my dad to come for me, but he has been dead for five years."It was a scary situation. One minute I was looking forward to the game, and the next I was in intensive care, plugged into all of these machines.”

The 54-year-old, who has an extra vertebra in his spine, is unable to work due to his disability.

He added: “They robbed me of everything, including £255. The only thing they left me with was my bus pass."Kurt usually attends every Rangers game with his 21-year-old son, Callum, and he's relieved that his boy was not there.

He has been following the team since the 1980s and he thinks football violence is getting worse. "I’m so glad my son wasn’t there. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if he had been hurt too.“Things are getting out of hand and I'm telling my story to raise awareness. What has happened to me shouldn’t happen to anyone going to a football game.”

David Kennedy, Chair of the Scottish Police Federation, says "there are not enough cops on the street" despite "a rise in violence in football" across the last few years.

He said: "It is really concerning that a person has set out that day with a hammer in their pocket knowing what they are going to do."The only way to stop that is to invoke the section 60 power to stop and search people to make sure they are not carrying weapons."The only way we can do that is by getting more officers on the street to make sure events are properly policed."We have seen a rise in violence in football these past few years, a return of the gang violence that we saw in the 80s, and we need to be honest here, there are not enough cops on the street."When you don’t have a visible police presence, that is when trouble arises. But if we keep reducing police numbers, it has a knock-on effect."Offering safety advice to football fans on match days, David added: "I would advise people travelling to the match to only travel with other fans and if you are attending alone, don’t show your team colours until you are at the ground."That is how you stay safe because you are not dealing with normal fans, you are dealing with people out to cause violence."

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