'YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED'

JUDGE SLAMS FOOTBALL THUGS AS THEY ARE SPARED JAIL

- ANDREW BARDSLEY

FOOTBALL thugs were told they should be ashamed' of themselves after United and Leeds fans clashed in 'running battles' in the city centre.

Three more fans were hauled before a judge after being caught on camera as ugly scenes unfolded ahead of a Premier League clash between the bitter rivals.

Bosses at a branch of Caffe Nero on Deansgate locked their doors after supporters threw chairs and other items including traffic cones and signs, mugs, bottles and flares.

Fighting broke out before police intervened and separated the thugs ahead of the Saturday afternoon game on August 14, 2021. The trio, who appeared at Manchester Crown Court, were told that if they had appeared in the dock months after the disorder, rather than three years later, that they would 'almost certainly' have been locked up.

But Judge Nicholas Dean KC said there would now be 'no deterrent value' in jailing 22-year-old Alex Williams; 24-year-old Cameron Benn, and 27-year-old Connor Robertson.