A police officer suffered serious facial injuries during an arrest at the Liverpool vs Manchester City Premier League clash at Anfield, as 10 people were arrested during the match
Police confirmed arrests were made at Anfield
Police confirmed arrests were made at Anfield(Image: Getty Images)
A police officer sustained serious facial injuries while making an arrest during yesterday's Liverpool versus Manchester City fixture. Merseyside Police confirmed the officer is now recuperating at home following hospital treatment.
The incident occurred amongst a total of 10 arrests made during the Premier League encounter at Anfield, which marked City's first match since the club was found guilty of breaching financial regulations. The league leaders dominated Liverpool 3-0 in what proved to be a turbulent occasion.
City now face the prospect of severe sanctions, including points deductions and even expulsion from the league, should their appeal against the independent commission's verdict fail — a ruling that found them guilty of more than 100 breaches of Premier League rules.
Throughout the match, Liverpool supporters taunted City with persistent booing and repeated chants of 'cheats', reports the Manchester Evening News.
Merseyside Police confirmed 10 arrests were made, with a statement reading: "The arrests included one man arrested on suspicion of two offences of assaulting a constable, five on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly and assault, two for affray and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
‘At around 6.35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a serious facial injury during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road. The officer was taken to hospital for treatment and is now recovering at home."
Chief Insp Leanne Hobin said: "The officers and stewards are there to protect the public and keep them safe, and it is extremely disappointing that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out that duty.
"Enquiries into the full circumstances are ongoing so that anyone responsible for criminality can be brought to justice.
"Officers are conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage."
Police officers are seen outside the stadium
Police officers are seen outside the stadium(Image: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Chief Insp Hobin also warned that officers would maintain their crackdown on supporters who engage in 'tribal point scoring' by chanting about disasters such as Hillsborough.
Chief Inspector Hobin added: "The tragic loss of life should never be a subject for tribal point scoring. Football fans who chant about tragedies cause huge distress to the loved ones of people who died and their behaviour has absolutely no place in football.
"We will continue to work with clubs to take action to identify any perpetrators and bring them to justice. I hope the arrests today send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others.
"Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record. Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation."