Manchester United vow to punish fans involved in crowd trouble at under-21s derby

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/may/13/manchester-city-united-security-crowd-trouble-derby

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Manchester United will take action against supporters involved in the crowd trouble that marred their under-21s derby at home to City. The teams will meet again in the league this season and City will, as planned, segregate rival fans.

Related: Adnan Januzaj scores in Manchester United Under-21s’ 4-0 rout of Man City

Tuesday evening’s match – won 4-0 by Warren Joyce’s young United side, who now need only a point against City to seal the title – was marred by skirmishes between fans in the stands and a pitch invader late in the game. Manchester police made three arrests.

City’s upcoming match at home to United will be the last of the season and it will be staged, on a date to be announced, at the 7,000-capacity City Football Academy Stadium. As 16,708 attended the game at Old Trafford the return could be a sell-out and so City plan to keep opposing supporters apart and step up security measures.

United said in a statement on Wednesday: “There was a minor incident at last night’s game across segregation lines from a small number of fans, after United scored the third goal. Stewards resolved the matter quickly. The fans that have been identified will be dealt through the usual channels.

“The club worked with Manchester City in advance to make sure segregation was effective. Police reported some minor disturbances outside the ground after the match.”

On the actual disturbances, police have clarified what occurred.

A statement read: “At around 8.50pm on Tuesday May 12 2015, police were called to Old Trafford by stewards following reports of unrest between fans who had been attending a Manchester United U21 versus Manchester City U21 match.

“Officers attended and detained a 13-year-old boy inside the ground on suspicion of pitch encroachment. He was later de-arrested and will be dealt with by summons.

“A 15-year-old boy and 19-year-old man were also detained outside the ground on suspicion of assault, but both have now been de-arrested pending further enquiries.”