A dozen football hooligans brought the worst night of violence to Manchester city centre since the blitz, a court heard.
The louts were among hundreds who went on the rampage after a screen set up in Piccadilly Gardens failed minutes before the UEFA Cup final clash between Glasgow Rangers and Zenit St Petersburg.
A number of police officers were surrounded and beaten up as they fought running battles with thugs until the early hours.
Shops and cars were vandalised, and the city was strewn with broken glass and litter. The thugs, who appeared at Manchester Crown Court, were all snared after footage of the chaos was captured by reporters, CCTV cameras, and users of social media sites like YouTube.
Officers pored through 5,000 hours of footage for evidence to charge the offenders, most of whom were Glasgow Rangers supporters rioting in the Piccadilly Gardens, Newton Street and Market Street parts of town.
Sentencing all but one of the guilty men – prison officer David Annette – to time behind bars, Judge Andrew Blake said the evening of May 14 2007 had been ‘worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the blitz."
Scott McSeveney, 22, of Lanarkshire, was found guilty of violent disorder and causing actual bodily harm to Pc John Goodwin, who was attacked by a mob and was saved by a female Rangers' fan, Sharon Gibson, who threw herself on top of him.
McSeveney was ordered to serve three-and-a-half years in jail, with a football banning order of eight years.
Mark Stoddart, 26, of Glasgow, was part of a baying mob who attacked Pc Mick Regan. He pleaded guilty to two counts of violent disorder and assault causing actual bodily harm and was ordered to serve two-and-a-half years behind bars with an eight-year football banning order.
John Saunders, 32, of Glasgow, who threw missiles, charged at police officers and attacked a police van pleaded guilty to two offences of violent disorder, was given a 15-month sentence and a football banning order of six years.
Gordon Forrest, 36, of Glasgow, was jailed for 14 months and given a football banning order for six years. He incited others to violence and kicked a police officer’s shield and a punched a coach.
Thomas Murphy, 28, of Greenock, admitted two offences of violent disorder after throwing items towards lines of police. He was jailed for 14 months and given a six-year football banning order.
Brian McVicar, 23, of East Kilbride, who admitted violent disorder, threw bottles and urged rioters on. The 20-year-old was given 21 months in a young offenders' institution and a six year banning order.
McVicar’s brother-in-law, Greg McKenna, 23, East Kilbride, also threw a bottle and was jailed for 18 months, with a banning order of six years, after being found guilty of violent disorder.
David McCullogh, 21, of Moorcroft Drive, Burnage, Manchester, joined the violence on his way home from work by throwing a bottle, and handed himself in after seeing his picture in the MEN. He was jailed for six months and handed a six-year banning order.
Michael Hindle, 22, a Blackburn Rovers fan from Leyland who has previously been subject to a football banning order, threw a bottle at a line of officers and was jailed for eight months with a six-year football banning order after admitting violent disorder.
William McSporran, 18, of Glasgow, was just 15 when he threw bottles at police and urged on the violent crowd. The teenager, who has a previous conviction for taking a knife to an Orange Order march, was given 12 months in a young offenders’ institution and a six-year football banning order after admitting violent disorder.
James Bell, 43, of Glasgow, threw missiles at police after being knocked over by an officer. He was jailed for 12 months plus a six-year football banning order after admitting violent disorder.
David Annette, a 35-year-old prison officer and Rangers fan from Chorley, Lancashire, threw three bottles at police, but was spared jail after admitting violent disorder. He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for a year, plus 180 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £500 costs.
Sentencing, Judge Andrew Blake, said: "By 8.45pm that evening Piccadilly Gardens had become a battleground. Riot police were deployed and struggled to contain the trouble and restore order. What followed was the worst night of violence and destruction suffered by Manchester city centre since the blitz.
"The damage, the filth and the litter was apparent to all who arrived in the city for work the next morning.
"It had nothing to do with football rivalry", he added, "and everything to do with drink."
Ricky Holland, prosecuting, told the court that around 125,000 Glasgow Rangers supporters descended on the city for the big match, many of whom began consuming ‘copious amounts of drink’ from the early morning.
Although there were reports of ‘isolated’ fights between Scottish and Russian fans during the day, large-scale disorder did not break out until after satellite technology and mobile phones caused the broadcast to fail at the big screen in Piccadilly Gardens and fans began to throw missiles as an engineer tried to fix it the problem.
After causing an estimated £300,000 to the screen, ‘various disgruntled supporters began to vent their aggression on property and then towards the police’,
Mr Holland said: "What took place, depicted on the footage, were very serious scenes of disorder, the likes of which it is not easy to remember occurring in the centre of Manchester, a number of the police officers, members of the Tactical Aid Unit who specialise in dealing with scenes of disorder and football matches, many of them describe not encountering scenes of such ferocity and intensity in the past."
Although not all the fans were drunk or violent, and a number tried to stop the disorder, the brawling raged into the night, leaving the city in a ‘terrible condition’, Mr Holland said.
Sharon Gibson, the Rangers fan who saved a police officer from serious injury, was awarded £200 from the public purse for what the judge called her ‘enormous courage’. The judge also thanked the police for their efforts.
One of the louts shouted "**** Manchester, **** Pc Regan and **** Pc Goodwin" as they were taken down.
