Fan wins compensation from police

June 11, 2009

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A FOOTBALL fan has won £2,750 compensation after he and 80 others were rounded up ahead of a Premier League match at Old Trafford last year.

Lyndon Edwards was among the scores of Stoke City supporters detained by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) before their team's clash with Manchester United.

The supporters were kept on their coaches for four hours before being taken back to Stoke-on-Trent - causing them to miss the tie.

The supporters were not even allowed to leave the coach to use the toilets, instead being told to use cups.

Mr Edwards, 38, was awarded the compensation after asking the Football Supporters' Federation (FSF) and civil rights group Liberty to take GMP's use of section 27 of the Violent Crime Reduction Act to judicial review.

The review is continuing but GMP last week accepted they had misused section 27, which gives police the power to move individuals - not large groups - on from an area for up to 48 hours.

Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins, of GMP, said the force had "got it wrong" and apologised.

Mr Edwards, currently on holiday in Wales, said: "I am very pleased that the GMP has conceded they were in the wrong and satisfied with the compensation awarded. Hopefully the forthcoming judicial review will have a positive outcome for football supporters too and prevent section 27 from being used in this manner again."

Malcolm Clarke, chairman of the FSF, called the compensation "an important victory for football fans everywhere - not just those at Stoke City".

From the M.E.N archives;

Cops say sorry to Stoke fans

Club backs banned fans

Cops face Human Rights probe

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Showing comments 1 to 5 and replies | View All

drew-peacock, romiley (11/06/2009 at 20:16)

As much as I dislike our friends from the potteries, this is good news, football fans are still being treated very poorly by Police, just last season but one where City were away at Middlesboro' a prime example.
They'll no doubt find another law somewhere to abuse fans with..I have no doubt.

john davis (11/06/2009 at 20:18)

GMP got it wrong again according to one of their Assistant Chief Constables, they r getting wrong several times a day, stand up for your rights and challenge the Police at every opportunity. I remember talking to a very good friend of mine a few weeks ago who just happens to be a solicitor specialising in Crime and he said to me the day the accused becomes as big a liar as a GMP officer, we will be in trouble.

Black Flag (12/06/2009 at 08:52)

It's a start, but this needs to be followed up with dismissals and criminal proceedings against individual officers if the message that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable is to get through.

Blue Benny (12/06/2009 at 10:29)

A great result for the common fan. Police all over the country take great pleasure in treating fans like second class citizens

Theowolfe (12/06/2009 at 11:57)

The real problem here is the broadly framed legislation, allowing restrictive policing.

Sestion 27, Section 44 of the Terrorism Act 2000, Section 13 of The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 and the Police's beloved Section 5 ofPublic Order Act are all too restrictive powers to be given to the authoritrian minded Police.

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