Greater Manchester Police investigate crowd trouble during Man City vs Liverpool

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have confirmed they are investigating a number of incidents of crowd trouble during the Carabao Cup clash between Manchester City and Liverpool on Thursday.

City won the game to progress to the next round, but there has been a growing animosity between the sets of fans in recent years born out of the new competitive rivalry.

Among the incidents on Thursday night was a 15-year-old girl being treated for head injuries after being struck by an object. A 53-year-old man was also assaulted after the game, while two men were arrested on suspicion of trying to take a firework into the stadium, and another man arrested over a racially aggravated public order offence.

“We are aware of a number of objects, including coins and a smoke bomb, that were thrown during the match,” GMP match commander, Superintendent Gareth Parkin, said.

“We will be investigating the incidents and reviewing CCTV from the night.”

A joint statement issued by the clubs condemned the number of ‘wholly unacceptable’ incidents.

“These incidents will be fully investigated, reported to the police and the individuals who are found to be responsible will be subject to the sanction process of their respective club,” they said.

“Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC are fully committed to working together to eradicate these issues from our fixtures. They have no place in football.”

Liverpool will be back in action when their Premier League schedule resumes on Boxing Day with a visit to Aston Villa. Manchester City head to Leeds two days later on 28 December.