Soccer yobs threaten landlord

THE ugly side of soccer reared its face on Saturday, threatening to ruin a glory day for Lewes Football Club.

THE ugly side of soccer reared its face on Saturday, threatening to ruin a glory day for Lewes Football Club.

Thugs threatened to beat up a local landlord and torch his pub.

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Inside the Dripping Pan there were several pitch invasions from fans, purporting to support Tow Law Town, near Newcastle.

People were spat upon and abused, and the referee had to be escorted off the pitch by police.

The club closed its bar before the match started.

More than 20 police, including many from other divisions, had to be brought in to keep the peace.

The first signs of trouble came at about 11am when White Star licensee Marcus Warland was warned by telephone to be on his guard against football trouble-makers.

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He was told that a group of men were on their way down by train as they had not been allowed on the Tow Law supporters' coach.

'Everything seemed OK when the group walked straight past my pub,' said Marcus, whose Station Street premises are the nearest to the railway station.

'But they came back about 15-strong around 2.15pm. They were foul-mouthed and obviously drunk and I told them I wasn't serving them.

'They then threatened to come back and do me, and my wife and children, and torch the pub. I had a seat slashed but they did leave the pub where, outside, they got on mobile phones to get in touch with others.

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'They were chanting and drinking from bottles. Then they left.'

Police, including a squad from Newcastle, later came in The White Star to check on the situation.

Mr Warland stayed open and kept watch at the door.

He was relieved to see police after the match escorting the hooligan element directly to the railway station.

'If the police had not been there, we could have been in real trouble,' he added. 'This was the first time we had ever been bothered by football hooligans. But we were kept well informed of the situation and had full back-up from police.'

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A police spokesman said 150 supporters from the Durham town arrived for the FA Vase fifth-round match which Lewes won 4-1.

During the match concerns mounted over a small rowdy away element who threw rubbish on the pitch and on several occasions ran on to the playing area, disrupting play.

Inspector Rex Matthews said: 'After receiving disturbing reports from officers at ground level, I decided to use resources from other police divisions to ensure the safety of the crowd at the end of the match.

'I am conscious that boisterous supporters can often seem frightening to members of the community.

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'It was important for us to have a visible presence around the ground so that law-abiding away and home supporters felt reassured.'

By the end of the match more than 20 police officers were on duty in Mountfield Road.

A group of 15 drunk and abusive away supporters were later stopped and searched close to the railway station. They were refused access to the town centre and placed on a train to London.

Lewes manager Jimmy Quinn described the rowdy element as 'a disgrace', while chairman Terry Parris said he would be contacting the Tow Law club over the incidents, which were a new phenomena in Lewes.

Match report and pictures: Pages 46 & 47.

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