POLICE in Manchester say they had been left "sickened and disappointed" by the violence that marred Rangers' clash with Zenit St Petersburg in the city.
A Russian fan was taken to hospital after being stabbed inside the City of Manchester Stadium following last night's game, while 42 fans were arrested across the city after clashing with riot police.
Trouble flared up in the city centre at around
7.30pm when a big screen relaying the match – which Zenit won 2-0 – broke down at the Piccadilly Gardens fan zone.
Riot police faced hostile Rangers fans, many of whom had been drinking for a number of hours and who began throwing bottles and cans at the police, forcing officers to back off before charging them to restore order.
Assistant Chief Constable Justine Curran of Greater Manchester Police said: "(It) has been a largely peaceful day in Manchester, full of carnival and celebration, and well over 100,000 people have been in the city and behaved themselves.
"But I'm really disappointed that has been spoiled by pockets of disorder that have broken out in the city centre. A minority of thugs have overshadowed what should have been a great occasion.
"I've watched them commit damage, assault my officers, and I'm sickened and disappointed."
At the stadium, a Zenit fan was stabbed in the back shortly before the game but his injuries were reported as non-life threatening.
Police have confirmed that six men, all believed to be Rangers fans, have been arrested in connection with the incident.
Across Manchester city centre, streets were strewn with rubbish, cans of beer and broken glass after 100,000 Rangers fans descended on the city.
Scores of bleary-eyed fans awoke hung over and shivering in the early morning, heading for the train station to begin the journey home, after sleeping in doorways, using their flags as blankets.
Train stations in Manchester were crammed full of fans trying to return to Scotland this morning, although British Transport Police said there had been no violence on services leaving the city. Thousands are expected to return to Waverley station later today.
Some Rangers fans have blamed the council's "shambolic" organisation for the violence , but another said the behaviour of supporters left him "ashamed to be a Scotsman".
Rangers today cancelled their plans for an open-top bus tour through Glasgow, following the death of former Celtic manager Tommy Burns.
Club chiefs said that it would be "inappropriate" to carry out their plans for a parade, which was expected to welcome the team home.
• The violent scenes in Manchester may cause cities to rethink putting on big screen showings of football matches, an academic warned today.
Hooligan expert John Williams from the University of Leicester said the sheer number of fans in Manchester last night created a powder keg that blew up when Rangers lost. Frustration at the failure of the big screen may also have triggered the violence, he said.
The full article contains 502 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
