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Children hit by objects hurled between Saints and Millwall fans

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Police have launched investigations into two incidents where children were hit with objects during and after the match. 

In the first incident, an object was thrown from the Southampton section near the end of the match. 

This landed in a Millwall section of the crowd, striking a nine-year-old boy. 

After the match near Britannia Court, in Britannia Road, a plastic cup was launched from a group of Millwall fans.

This hit an 11-year-old boy who had been supporting Southampton. 

This comes after a football fan told the Echo he saw a child being ‘attacked’ in Britannia Road after the match.

READ MORE: ‘Child attacked’ after Southampton FC and Millwall match

Police also arrested a 32-year-old man from Southampton after the game after a brick was seen to be thrown at another person in New Road. 

He was arrested on suspicion of common assault and possessing a controlled drug of Class A. 

The man has been released on bail while enquiries continue. 

Another man was also charged with two counts of assaulting an emergency worker. 

It is alleged that an officer was punched and a second was spat at after the game.

Pawel Grzegorz Imielinski, 42, of Elm Road, Croydon, has been bailed to appear at Southampton Magistrates’ Court on March 21.

Match Commander, Superintendent Mark Lewis, said: “The vast majority of fans attending the Southampton v Millwall match this weekend, both at the Stadium itself and in venues around the city, did so responsibly and respectfully.

“There were, however, a minority contingent of fans from both clubs who sought to engage in violence after the match.

“There were reports of physical confrontations, and objects being thrown by fans both inside and outside the stadium – behaviour which is simply unacceptable and can be unsettling for other spectators.

“We had a number of police resources in place throughout the city over the course of the day with tactics open to them which helped mitigate any risk of large scale disorder.

“Because of this, instances of aggressive behaviour were swiftly de-escalated, and we know that proactive opportunities were taken by police to prevent incidents of wider disorder from happening altogether.

“The instances of violent and aggressive behaviour we did see – and I want to be clear that there was behaviour displayed by fans from both clubs which fell far short of what we deem to be appropriate – was isolated and sporadic.

“Officers on the ground did an excellent job of dispelling groups engaging in this behaviour to ensure the overall safety of the wider public.

“We will now review any additional information or footage that is provided to police to identify whether there were any further instances of criminal behaviour. Any further crimes identified will be investigated.

“I want to thank the wider community and majority of fans who behaved responsibly on the day and enjoyed the game.”

Anyone with information about a crime having been committed can contact police through the Hampshire Constabulary website or by calling 101. 



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