2012 Island Derby riots

Following a Island Derby football game on 9 April 2012, in which Alum Chine F.C. beat Durley Chine F.C. 3–2 in controversial circumstances, violence broke out between the rival supporters both inside and outside the stadium, and these riots eventually raged on for six days.

Background

 * Main article: Island Derby

Alum Chine and Durley Chine have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to the clubs' first meeting, a friendly match on 13 November 2005. Their rivalry stems from the two sides' geographical proximity to each other – their current home grounds (Alum Chine Stadium and the Island Boulevard Ground) are less than 200 metres away from each other on Island Boulevard – and, over the years, there have been several instances of minor violence between the two clubs. Prior to this match the two teams had met 20 times – with Alum Chine winning 13, Durley Chine winning 6, and there being only 1 draw. Their most recent meeting, on 13 January 2012 at the Island Boulevard Ground, ended as a 1–1 draw, with minor hooliganism taking place during that game at half time.

Hooliganism is rare in Leeds football, most commonly taking place in either an Island Derby or a North City Derby between Pine Forest and Cola Hills.

The match
The game was initially scheduled to kick-off at 1500 BST on 9 April 2012 at the Alum Chine Stadium, home of Alum Chine F.C., with Durley Chine F.C. being the visitors. As a result, it was an Island Derby.

The game actually began at 1530 BST on the day. This was 30 minutes late; caused by turnstiles breaking down in the away end and thousands of Durley Chine fans being stuck outside the stadium at what would be the kick-off. As a result, they decided to postpone the kick-off temporarily. At 1505 the turnstiles were working again, and just before 1530 all 4,000 Durley Chine fans were in their seats. As a result, the derby finally kicked off, half an hour late, at 1530.

It was a hotly contested affair from the start. In the 34th minute, James Johnson put the visitors into the lead, and at half time the score stood at Alum Chine 0–1 Durley Chine.

The second half turned out to be more dramatic. In the 54th minute, James Johnson extended Durley Chine's lead, making the score 0–2. In the 69th minute, Alum Chine's Ryan Joan was given a straight red card and sent off the field for a dangerous tackle on Durley Chine's James Johnson.

The last ten minutes of the game were hugely dramatic and also controversial. In the 89th minute, Andy Andrews scored for Alum Chine, making the score 1–2. Then in the 90th minute, Andy Cousins equalised for Alum Chine, making the score 2–2. The rowdy Alum Chine fans mocked the Durley Chine fans as they started to grow more and more restless.

The fourth official added on three minutes added time at the end of the game. This proved to be controversial. Alum Chine continued to attack but couldn't score; the Durley Chine fans chanted insults at the referee for adding on so long to the end of the game. This became even more controversial when he failed to blow the final whistle at the end of the third minute, and the clocked ticked on to the fourth and then fifth minute as the Durley Chine fans got increasingly angry.

In the fifth minute of stoppage time (classed as minute 90+5), Paul O'Sullivan scored for Alum Chine to put the score at 3–2. Stewards had to struggle to keep Alum Chine fans off the pitch as Durley Chine kicked off. 3 seconds after the re-start after Alum Chine's 3rd goal, the referee blew the final whistle.

'''Final score: Alum Chine 3–2 Durley Chine. Attendance: 40,567'''

Violence at half time
At half time, with the score 1–0 to Durley Chine, a group of at least 100 Durley Chine fans gathered near a fence separating them from the Alum Chine fans. Noticing this, a group of at least 100 Alum Chine fans went aggressively towards the fence.

Seeing this, Durley Chine fans "felt provoked" and began hurling ripped up plastic seats, advertising boards, bottles, and coins into the Alum Chine area. Alum Chine fans responded by throwing it back into the Durley Chine area. Police intervened after a section of fence was smashed and Durley Chine fans flooded into the Alum Chine area, causing hand-to-hand fighting in that area. Police restored order in time for the second half to begin, heavily guarding the fence for the rest of the game and making 50 arrests.

Disturbances during the second half
In the 78th minute, annoyed Alum Chine fans, angry at the Durley Chine fans for damaging their stadium, re-started throwing bottles and coins from their area over the fence and police lines and into the Durley Chine area. The Durley Chine fans ignored this provokation, and the police quickly calmed down the situation.

After Alum Chine's second goal in the 90th minute, some Durley Chine fans tried to break through police lines and get to the gap they made in the fence, and continue fighting with the Alum Chine fans who were winding them up. Police managed to restore calm immediately, and a further 10 arrests were made.

Immediately after the game
The final whistle was met with resounding boos from the Durley Chine fans and resounding cheers from the Alum Chine fans, who stormed the field of play and celebrated on the pitch. Pitch-side stewards were overwhelmed as thousands of Alum Chine fans stormed the pitch in celebration, where they stayed before police on horseback forced them back into the stands and out of the stadium fifteen minutes later. There was no actual violence during the pitch invasion, and no arrests; it was just a mass disobedience.

Meanwhile, angry and dejected Durley Chine fans started vandalising their stand as they left, ripping up seating, toppling bins, pulling down advertising boards, pulling down fences, and smashing windows. As all the police were stopping the pitch invasion at the time, this event went unnoticed and they did not make any attempt to stop it.

The fans had calmed down somewhat by the time they exited the stadium, and they were no longer vandalising things. However, a group of several hundred Alum Chine supporters, angry about the destruction that the Durley Chine fans caused repeatedly during the game, and hearing about the destruction the visiting fans had caused to their stadium after the game, suddenly started running at a group of about as many Durley Chine supporters.

9 April
The charging Alum Chine fans and the exiting Durley Chine fans clashed outside the stadium away end's exit, and with no police to stop them, fought each other openly using smashed bottles, chairs, bins, tear gas, and even knives, causing "at least 40" injuries according to the ambulance service who attended afterwards.

From 1800 onwards the hooligans began to disperse all over the island, and it was only at this point that police began to intervene. As the hooligans ran rampage around the island, businesses suffered extensive damage in places. A car wash on Island Boulevard was burnt down, and the local post office on the same road was also burnt down. A bus escaping the Island, later named as 21109, suffered eight smashed windows and major dents after being bricked. It is reported that to escape the riots, the driver had to break the speed limit (reaching 54mph). Due to the fact he was being attacked, the police pardoned the driver, saying he would not be fined for speeding, as he had little other choice. Leeds Buses announced they would reward, not punish, the driver for getting his passengers to safety quickly.

Meanwhile, a G-Radio presenter was attacked by unidentified fans and had to run away while reporting at Arowana Peninsula, which was later cordoned off by police due to smashed glass. A video from their cameras shows the terrified camera crew running down Island Boulevard, being chased by angry Alum Chine supporters wielding burning sticks and burning Durley Chine FC t-shirts.

Generally, Durley Chine fans ran rampage, while Alum Chine fans said they were "protecting" the area although they were rioting too, mainly against Durley Chine fans however.

10 April
On the morning of 10 April, the looting began, with the smashed up businesses on Island Boulevard being looted. Meanwhile, a Durley Chine fan was arrested after breaking into Island Boulevard bus depot and trashing offices.

By the end of the day fighting intensified, after Alum Chine fans broke into the Island Boulevard Ground, home to Durley Chine F.C., and began ripping up seats and advertising hoardings and throwing them around in revenge for damages caused the previous day at their Alum Chine Stadium.

Hearing of this Durley Chine fans "invaded" their stadium and forced the Alum Chine fans out by threatening to throw molotov cocktails (petrol bombs) at them. Then they set up guard all around the stadium and started organising a party of around 1000 individuals to go back to the Alum Chine Stadium and cause more damages there and take control of the stadium, which was very lightly guarded by Alum Chine fans.

11 April
The morning of 11 April was the only time the sets of fans co-operated - briefly - after the police evacuated Alum Chine after it was thought the MSC had planted a car bomb somewhere, which later turned out to be false. While all the fans were crammed into Durley Chine they did not do any fighting, instead passing the time by sunbathing and playing on the beaches.

However this soon changed after Alum Chine was re-opened in the afternoon. The Durley Chine fans who had been organised to attack the Alum Chine Stadium immediately ran into Alum Chine, up Island Boulevard, and into the Alum Chine Stadium, where, with no Alum Chine fans or police to stop them, they ripped up seats and more around the entire stadium, not just the away end like during the match. One person threw a flare from the away end that landed on the very dry pitch, setting the grass alight. Another person ran up to the rear of the Kop Stand, which is the largest stand in the stadium and usually houses the most vocal of the home fans, and dumped a hoard of around 20 molotov cocktails before setting them on fire. The fire alarms then sounded and the Durley Chine fans exited the stadium having caused at least 1,000,000 Bells in damage, while the fire brigade were left to put out the grassfire on the pitch that eventually consumed the entire playing field. They also had to put out the fire at the back of the Kop Stand, which eventually consumed the entire roof and the rear 20 rows of seating.

12 April
The main story on 12 April was the brutal murder of an Alum Chine fan by a mob of Durley Chine fans. The person was beaten to death with sticks, before being stabbed, kicked in the head, and hung from a lamppost. Then they were taken down and thrown off of West Bridge.

Meanwhile, fighting and looting continued as before.

13 April
Fighting continued through 13 April.

Late on 13 April, Alum Chine fans set fire to the roof of the Away End at the Island Boulevard Ground in revenge for the attack on the Alum Chine Stadium on 11 April. The fire destroyed the whole of the wooden Away End and adjacent wooden South Stand, causing around a million Bells in damage.

14 April
On 14 April, Leeds City Police declared the riot a Code Red and started using water cannons and rubber bullets to stop the rioters, items that had been introduced in and not used since the August 2011 Leeds riots. It was only the second time the controversial anti-rioting measures were used in Leeds history, but they are very effective and are gradually been accepted as okay for the police to use by the population of Leeds. The water cannons and rubber bullets that were brought in were complimented by tear gas, riot gear, and pepper spray, which police were already using.

By late on 14 April almost all the rioters - 2400 in all - had been arrested and a very little amount continued rioting.

15 April
The last of the rioters were rounded up in the early hours of 15 April, and later on in the morning the majority of the police withdrew from the streets, with around 100 still patrolling the streets of Leeds Island with rubber bullet guns. They said that if calm held until 1 May, they would then totally withdraw from the streets.

Aftermath
We L♥VE Leeds members established emergency bases of operation at both the Alum Chine Stadium and the Island Boulevard Stadium, where their members signed in and were then distributed to start helping out. On the first day, workers started helping out at both stadiums, businesses in and around Arowana Peninsula and northern Island Boulevard, Island Boulevard bus depot, and Leeds Docklands.

From 16 April, they helped out on the rest of the Island. They estimate that with their help, normality could be reinstated by the start of May, with almost all businesses and buildings repaired and reopened by that time. The exception to this rule would be the two stadiums, which would be out of action until the start of the next season in September, and the several burnt buildings in Island Boulevard, which would need demolishing and rebuilding and would take longer.

Reaction
On 9 April, hearing of violence, all Leeds Buses, Leeds Railways, and Leeds River Boats services around the Island were cancelled from 1800. Leeds Docklands was closed down with ships diverting to either G-Ville or Home.

Some people have compared it to the 1985 Kenilworth Road riot in England, where Luton Town F.C. and Millwall F.C. fans damaged the Kenilworth Road Stadium before running riot on the streets of Luton.

On 10 April, shocked residents formed "We L♥VE Leeds" to clear up the area as soon as the riots subside. The general public who are not involved in the violence have been praised for their support of the emergency services and willingness to help out.