Back in September, there were scenes of violence between Man United fans and Twente fans after the club's 1-1 draw. Two months later, a group of these fans was arrested.
The incident in question took place away from the football itself. Two sets of fans of around 40 ‘balaclava-wearing individuals clashed in the Lower Broughton area of Salford the day before the game.
At the time, locals called the police, but the trouble moved to a nearby pub before finally being dispersed later in the evening.
10 Man United fans arrested
Having spent the past two months looking at CCTV footage of the incidents, Manchester police have now conducted a series of raids in the early morning to arrest people involved. The oldest of those detained was aged 64, with the youngest being just 20.
During the raid, police also found two separate cannabis farms, with another 36-year-old woman arrested as a result. Everyone involved will now face 24 hours under arrest, with all of them expected to miss the Manchester derby at the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
A Greater Manchester Police statement read, “Intelligence was gathered that a targeted and organised large-scale fight took place over two months ago in Lower Broughton before heading towards the city centre. With the Manchester derby only days away, this is another strong reminder that violence of any sort, whether it is linked to football or not, will not be tolerated.”
Manchester United are back in Europe tonight, and fans are travelling to Viktoria Plzen. Tickets for the game are still available on third-party sites, though these come with a hefty markup.
More trouble outside stadiums
It's a story we've already covered this week, when Celtic fans were targeted in Zagreb. Once again, the issue is that UEFA don't do anything about it; it's left down to the local police.
Now, on this occasion, we've seen results, with fans arranging ‘mass brawls' and away fans seeing the consequences of their actions. If this is something that is consistently enforced, is another thing, but at least on this occasion, something was done.
Ultimately, UEFA, and if not them, the clubs, need to step in and ban these fans from games. If Manchester United came out and banned these fans for X number of years of matches at Old Trafford, it would quickly send a message to other fans that clubs do not tolerate this sort of behaviour.
For now, such bans seem to be isolated to when an incident happens within the stadiums' grounds.