Investigation opened into violence between Peterborough United and Nottingham Forest fans that left 7-year-old fan "terrified"

Cambridgeshire Police has said that it has opened an investigation into violent scenes that took place between Posh and Nottingham Forest fans during the match on Saturday (April 23).

A number of Forest fans brought tickets in the home end of the Weston Stadium for the fixture that confirmed Posh’s relegation to League One and secured Forest’s spot in the end of season play-offs, despite the club’s attempts to limit this occurring.

After the match, a video was posted online that showed a violent altercation in the BGL South Family Stand between Posh fans and a group of Nottingham Forest supporters who produced a flag with the club’s logo and “Spalding” written on it.

Forest supporters were also found in other areas of a ground, with stewards seen confronting a man, in the Main Stand, who removed a jumper to reveal a Forest shirt after the full-time whistle.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Police were made aware of an incident between opposition fans towards the end of Saturday’s match in the Peterborough section of the crowd.

“Additional information has subsequently come to light which suggests criminal offences took place. No arrests have been made at this time, but officers are investigating and will work with both clubs to review materials and determine the next steps.

“Cambridgeshire Constabulary is committed to taking positive action where criminal behaviour ruins the safe enjoyment of football. This includes the use of Football Banning Orders, where proportionate, to help prevent future harm”.

“I could tell she was shaken and wasn’t sure she wanted to go back"

In the video, a man can be clearly seen rushing down to rescue a young girl who has burst into tears after the fighting starts.

Given that it was the Family Stand, there were several young children close by. Sitting around five rows back from the incident was Stephen Williams and his daughter Sofia.

Stephen has said the incident left his daughter shaken and terrified and unsure if she wanted to return to the ground. Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony has since been in touch with the family and arranged to meet them ahead of Posh’s next home match, against Blackpool, in two weeks (May 7).

Stephen said: “I’m furious with what happened and with the response of the stewards.

We were about five rows back and there was a steward right next to the fans who produced the flag so I though it would be dealt with quickly. They just stood there though with an embarrassed smile on their face.

“Then all hell broke loose, it was awful, and there were fists flying everywhere, there were people scattered across rows, other rushing for the exit and I genuinely though someone was going to end up over the edge.

“It was a scary experience for me, so I can’t imagine what it must have been like for all of the children nearby.

“Sofia was terrified and when I talked to her afterwards, I could tell she was shaken and she said she wasn’t sure she wanted to go back.

“Without the chairman’s offer, I really don’t think she would have agreed to go back. To be fair to the club, they have been excellent after I contacted them but I’m really unhappy with how it was handled on the day, it was absolutely appalling.”

“There was a medical emergency taking place in the lower tier of the stand"

Posh have said that stewards were preoccupied at the time of the incident dealing with a medical emergency but responded to diffuse the situation. The club has appealed fans with any evidence of further incidents to get in touch.

An official statement read: “When the game between Peterborough United and Nottingham Forest was heading for a sell-out in the away end, we placed an embargo on our ticketing system preventing supporters from purchasing tickets for this game who were not registered before a certain date.

“In the build-up to the fixture, we worked closely with Nottingham Forest and the authorities, and we identified a number of supporters who had managed to buy in home areas mainly who had pre-empted tickets selling out and purchasing tickets prior to the embargo. There were also examples of local individuals with an account registered previously purchasing tickets on behalf of Forest fans.

We were also able to identify more through social media posts and all of these individuals had their tickets cancelled and refunded.

“One of the challenges for us as a football club was that due to the close proximity of both teams and the fact that a sizeable amount of both club’s supporter bases extend into geographical areas, meant that we couldn’t reject people based on postcode alone. The club were pro-active to try and prevent any potential problems that could occur on the day.

“We continued throughout the build-up to put out information regarding ejections and a number of fans were moved/ejected on the day from home areas. Unfortunately, in one specific area of the South Stand, a small number of Nottingham Forest supporters unfurled a Ukraine flag with the Forest logo and the place name, Spalding, across it, which caused upset and anger within that area.

“At the time this incident was ongoing, there was a medical emergency taking place in the lower tier of the stand, but stewards were re-directed to diffuse the situation. The club does not condone the behaviour of the supporters involved and an investigation is ongoing to identify those involved.

“The club would like to appeal to anyone who has any footage or evidence of any incidents that occurred – please send to [email protected]. We also encourage supporters to use our text service on matchdays (TEXT PUFC plus your message to 60066) which is closely monitored in real time by our safety team.

“The club would like to the vast majority of supporters inside the stadium for their behaviour on what was our biggest league attendance of the season.”

“The club will be making no further comment.”