Wheelchair fan's Euro ordeal
Battered by cops ... Spurs fan Carl, and inset, Spanish cops charge at Spurs fans
Picture: ROGER CRUMP
By NEIL SYSON
April 07, 2007
A WHEELCHAIR-bound Spurs fan battered by Spanish cops in the battle of Seville said: “I thought I was going to die.”
Cerebral palsy sufferer Carl Bingham, 32, was smashed on the leg by a police baton and had a tyre ripped off as cops waded in.
Shaken Carl — a Spurs fan for 20 years — told how cops lashed out when Seville equalised with a dodgy penalty.
He said: “We all started shouting at the ref when he gave them their penalty, then all hell broke loose. Police began wading in — I have no idea why.
“Being in a chair, there was no way I could get away. Then I felt this almighty whack on my leg from a baton.
“The police were seething with hatred. They were like a pack of wild animals. One of them drew his baton back for a crack at my head.
“My friend flung himself between me and the copper. A Tottenham steward tried to protect me.
Without them, my head would have been smashed in. The fact cops were attacking a disabled fan caused a lot of anger. Even Seville fans were apologising to me.”
Builder Alan Arnold, 33, of South Harrow, Middlesex, said police even beat a woman unconscious and hit a boy aged about seven on the head.
The scenes in Seville echoed those 24 hours earlier, when riot cops charged Manchester United fans during their Euro Champions League match in Rome.
READERS' COMMENTS
These Spanish cops seriously need jail time! This is absolutely beyond disgusting. What's going to be done about this abuse that's what I want to know? I know their are British football hooligans but it's not just the British! This just goes to show that the Spanish are also to blame and not just the football fans. What warrants these heartless ******* cops to raise their batons at a defenseless disabled man who has cerebal palsy for god's sake! This could have easily have resulted in this poor man dying! One country I've struck off my list to visit that's for sure...
doseyjo, United States (West Ham United fan)
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This example sums up the baton-weilding Spanish cops in a nutshell perfectly. I wish the lad well.
Paul_the_Beat-All, London (Tottenham Hotspur fan)
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Attacking a wheelchair bound person, a child, and women is wholly unacceptable and a disgraceful use of power. Considering fans wanted to use the toilet and were denied is also unacceptable.
When the police behave like this unarmed people will retaliate to protect themselves. It's clear that the fans did not start the trouble and those responsible must be bought to justice.
In Italy, the Ultras run the grounds. That is well known. Thats why the police did nothing to stop them missiling Utd fans yet they waded in mercilessly when the UTD fans retaliated. They side with their own. Simple fact.
LabourOUT, Albania
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thesun.co.uk
Battered by cops ... Spurs fan Carl, and inset, Spanish cops charge at Spurs fans
Picture: ROGER CRUMP
April 07, 2007
A WHEELCHAIR-bound Spurs fan battered by Spanish cops in the battle of Seville said: “I thought I was going to die.”
Cerebral palsy sufferer Carl Bingham, 32, was smashed on the leg by a police baton and had a tyre ripped off as cops waded in.
Shaken Carl — a Spurs fan for 20 years — told how cops lashed out when Seville equalised with a dodgy penalty.
He said: “We all started shouting at the ref when he gave them their penalty, then all hell broke loose. Police began wading in — I have no idea why.
“Being in a chair, there was no way I could get away. Then I felt this almighty whack on my leg from a baton.
“The police were seething with hatred. They were like a pack of wild animals. One of them drew his baton back for a crack at my head.
“My friend flung himself between me and the copper. A Tottenham steward tried to protect me.
Without them, my head would have been smashed in. The fact cops were attacking a disabled fan caused a lot of anger. Even Seville fans were apologising to me.”
Builder Alan Arnold, 33, of South Harrow, Middlesex, said police even beat a woman unconscious and hit a boy aged about seven on the head.
The scenes in Seville echoed those 24 hours earlier, when riot cops charged Manchester United fans during their Euro Champions League match in Rome.
READERS' COMMENTS
These Spanish cops seriously need jail time! This is absolutely beyond disgusting. What's going to be done about this abuse that's what I want to know? I know their are British football hooligans but it's not just the British! This just goes to show that the Spanish are also to blame and not just the football fans. What warrants these heartless ******* cops to raise their batons at a defenseless disabled man who has cerebal palsy for god's sake! This could have easily have resulted in this poor man dying! One country I've struck off my list to visit that's for sure...
doseyjo, United States (West Ham United fan)
--------------------
This example sums up the baton-weilding Spanish cops in a nutshell perfectly. I wish the lad well.
Paul_the_Beat-All, London (Tottenham Hotspur fan)
------------------
Attacking a wheelchair bound person, a child, and women is wholly unacceptable and a disgraceful use of power. Considering fans wanted to use the toilet and were denied is also unacceptable.
When the police behave like this unarmed people will retaliate to protect themselves. It's clear that the fans did not start the trouble and those responsible must be bought to justice.
In Italy, the Ultras run the grounds. That is well known. Thats why the police did nothing to stop them missiling Utd fans yet they waded in mercilessly when the UTD fans retaliated. They side with their own. Simple fact.
LabourOUT, Albania
---------------
thesun.co.uk