Police have confirmed an arrest has been made in relation to the mass brawl between Millwall and Everton supporters in January.
Trouble between fans started in the Hawkstone Road area of Southwark, near Millwall’s stadium ahead of the FA Cup match and left one man requiring stitches after being slashed across the face.
London’s Metropolitan Police said: “A 27-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, 5 February on suspicion of wounding with intent, attempted grievous bodily harm (GBH), and violent disorder.
He has been bailed to return to a central London police station on Thursday, 28 February.
The arrest is in relation to a life-changing injury one male suffered to his face during the disorder.”
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Detective Sergeant Matt Simpson, from the Met’s Public Order Investigation Team, said the scenes were ‘absolutely shocking’.
“We are carrying out a large-scale investigation into the disorder, which left at least one person with a serious injury.
“We have hours of CCTV and hundreds of images which we are closely reviewing, and we have a team of experts working to identify those involved.
“In the very near future we will be issuing images of those we want to trace, and we will be asking for the media’s support in doing so. We are dedicated to identifying those involved, and bringing them to justice for the chaos and disruption they caused.
“I would urge anyone with information to call police on 101 quoting CAD 5117/26 January, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”
Millwall beat Everton 3-2 on the day, but in addition to the fighting, some sections of the home support allegedly directed racially abusive chanting towards the visiting supporters during the game.
Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh has told talkSPORT the club have closed a section of The Den in a bid to rid the club of problematic supporters.
Speaking to Jim White, he said the club are working hard to shed its bad image once and for all – starting with closing the section where the racist chanting came from, the East Upper block of The Den.
“We have got together to put a raft of measures in place to make sure we try to rid this club of any of these tags, and anyone who wants to commit racism or any form of hate – they’re just not welcome at Millwall,” he said.
“We have shut the top section of block 17, 18 and 19, we’ve put extra stewarding in that area which will stay until the end of the season at least and police spotters will be up there to make sure the area is controlled.
“We are not being the fun police.
“We are making sure people don’t go over the line and that it’s an environment where people can enjoy the game, celebrate football and do it properly.
“It’s important to us to try and rid this image.
“Myself and my staff, we’ve all been affected by this. It felt awful and it was a terrible situation.
“We’ve been hurt by it and that’s made us extra empowered to go and change what’s happening and try and improve this for everyone.
“We don’t want this, were hurt by it and it’s not what Millwall want as a football club.”