Shocking footage shows the moment a group of football fans rampaged through a city centre.
Police said “some incidents of disorder” unfolded in Cardiff city centre today ahead of the Championship match between Cardiff City and Bristol City. Eyewitnesses claimed they were told by officers to avoid certain areas of town for their own safety, while others described seeing as many as 100 masked men smash the windows of buses, and intimidate passers-by. In one clip from the scene, a group men believed to be Bristol City fans are seen charging at a Wetherspoon pub and launching missiles, before mounted police officers and their colleagues on foot forced them to the end of the road.
Bus drivers were meanwhile advising each other to stay away from the city centre after some of the group reportedly began smashing vehicles. One witness said: “Football fans are hitting our bus as they go past, a masked one just booted the door of the bus that we are on. He’s cracked the glass. Bus driver has some sort of radio telling all buses to avoid town centre.”
One arrest has been made for a public order offence. The early kick-off fixture at Cardiff City Stadium finished at around 2.30pm with a score of 1-1, and South Wales Police said it put in place an operation to ensure that “both sets of supporters can leave the stadium safely”. Previous fixtures between local rivals Bristol City and Cardiff City have resulted in smaller clashes between fans.
A statement from the force said: “South Wales Police is aware of some incidents of disorder that took place in Cardiff city centre ahead of today’s Championship match between Cardiff City and Bristol City at Cardiff City Stadium. One man was arrested for a public order offence in connection to this disorder.
“Officers have been very busy in ensuring supporters get to the stadium as safely as possible. A derby fixture such as this always comes with a highly charged atmosphere. Unfortunately there will always a be a minority that will seek to engage in disorder, but officers responded quickly to stop any such incidents. A policing operation was put in place to ensure both sets of supporters left the stadium safely following the match.”
Most of the incidents of disorder were reported in the morning before the game, and the leader of Cardiff Council insisted this afternoon that there was “no reason to stay away” from the city centre. Huw Thomas, leader of Cardiff Council, wrote on social media: “Whilst it’s disappointing to see the behaviour of a handful of idiots, there are no ongoing issues in Cardiff city centre, and no reason to stay away. I’m told the incidents occurred around 10.30am – grateful to South Wales Police for dealing with it swiftly.”
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