Millwall meet with FA over Wembley violence
LONDON (AFP) –
Millwall fans fight among themselves in the crowd during the FA Cup semi-final football match between Millwall and Wigan Athletic at Wembley Stadium in north London on April 13, 2013. Wigan won the game 2-0.
Millwall chief executive Andy Ambler met with Football Association chiefs on Monday as the inquest began into the violence that marred the club’s FA Cup semi-final against Wigan.
Ambler held talks with FA Chairman David Bernstein and the organisation’s General Secretary Alex Horne in a bid to show Millwall are doing everything in their power to seek out and punish the Lions fans who fought amongst themselves in the closing stages of Saturday’s 2-0 win for Wigan at Wembley.
A global audience of millions was left horrified by television images of a young girl crying and police being attacked after fighting broke out among a small section of the 32,000 Millwall supporters.
There were 14 arrests made for a variety of offences on Saturday, with 12 reported to be Millwall fans, and Ambler is determined to root out the troublemakers.
“The FA, the police and ourselves, in addition to everyone else connected with football, are determined that the perpetrators of the mindless violence we saw at Wembley on Saturday afternoon are brought to justice,” Ambler told Millwall’s website.
“We, as a club, have pledged to offer all the help and assistance we can during the course of the investigations.
“At this stage we are still awaiting details of the arrests that have already been made and understand that the police will want to identify others.
“Similarly, they will seek to discover what caused the disorder to occur and we are grateful for all the correspondence we have received from Lions fans who were as appalled as we were by what went on.”
It is not the first time Millwall have seen their name dragged through the mud due to the actions of a mindless minority who are attracted to the club by its’ unwanted reputation as a hotbed for hooliganism.
The south-east London team’s supporters were involved in an infamous riot during an FA Cup quarter-final at Luton in 1985, while their 2002 play-off meeting with Birmingham ended with ugly scenes of violence that took police several hours to quell.
Ambler and Lions chairman John Berylson have worked tirelessly to rebuild the club’s reputation in recent years, but the Millwall chief executive conceded the Wembley violence was a major setback.
“The actions of a minority on Saturday spoiled what should have been an exciting day for 32,000 of our supporters who came out to cheer their team at Wembley,” Ambler said.
“Furthermore, the reputation of our club, which over the last few years has been steadily and painstakingly rebuilt, has been severely damaged once again.
We understand that there are now bridges to be rebuilt, and if there are lessons to be learned from the weekend I’m sure all parties will be keen to take them on board and ensure that those unsavoury scenes are not repeated.”