Merseyside Police officer suffers serious facial injury in arrest after Liverpool vs City

A Merseyside Police officer was taken to hospital with a serious facial injury after making an arrest on Anfield Road at approximately 6.35pm on Sunday, following Liverpool’s Premier League fixture against Manchester City at Anfield. The officer is now recovering at home.

Merseyside Police confirmed that 10 people were arrested in total during its policing operation for the match. One man was arrested on suspicion of two counts of assaulting a constable; five were detained on suspicion of tragedy chanting; one on suspicion of assault and being drunk and disorderly; two for affray; and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.

The match itself was played in a charged atmosphere, with Liverpool supporters branding the visitors “cheats” following an independent commission ruling that Manchester City had used sham contracts to pump £830 million of inflated income into the club over nine seasons.

Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said officers had a comprehensive policing operation in place, having worked alongside both clubs and fan groups ahead of the fixture. “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,” she said. “Enquiries into the full circumstances are ongoing so that anyone responsible for criminality can be brought to justice.”

On the subject of tragedy chanting, Hobin was unequivocal. “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.”

She added that the arrests should serve as a deterrent: “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.”

Police are continuing their enquiries, speaking to witnesses and reviewing CCTV and mobile phone footage from the incident. Hobin noted that the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and thanked them for their co-operation.