User:The C of E/2000

The 2000 UEFA Cup Final Riots, also known as the Battle of Copenhagen, was a public disorder event in Copenhagen, Denmark between fans of English football team, Arsenal and Turkish side, Galatasaray around the 2000 UEFA Cup Final on 17 May 2000.

History
Arsenal made it to the final in uncontroversial fashion by defeating French club, Lens in their Semi-final. Galatasaray beat English team Leeds United But their matches were marred with controversy. Two Leeds United fans were stabbed to death before their semi-final first leg at Galatasaray's Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul. This caused widespread anger throughout The United Kingdom. It was reported that members of Arsenal's hooligan firms, The Herd and The Gooners wanted to avenge their deaths and reportedly telephoned other British hooligan firms inviting them to join them in Copenhagen to attack Galatasaray fans. It was reported that members of Leeds United's Leeds United Service Crew, Chelsea's Chelsea Headhunters, Rangers' Inner City Firm, Cardiff City's Soul Crew and Swansea City's Jack Army all travelled to Denmark to join Arsenal fans in attacks on Galatasaray fans. This lead to the final being considered "high risk" and 2,000 Danish police were assigned to the game with assistance from members of British and Turkish police forces.

Events
On the Wednesday before the UEFA Cup final, an Arsenal fan was stabbed leading to Arsenal offering fans refunds if they didn't want to fly to the game. Later that day, Galatasaray fans occupied Copenhagen's City Hall Square and started to try and provoke Arsenal fans in a nearby bar. The fans in the bar stood up to the provocation with both sides chanting at each other until bottles were thrown from both sides. The Danish police then moved in to separate the fans and moved the Galatasaray fans back towards the square.

Then in a calculated attack, several Arsenal fans, approximately 500, attacked from the main road from the rear of the Galatasaray fans. This caused a severe riot in the city square with several restraunt facilities used by fans to fight each other. This lasted 20 minutes before the Danish police attempted to break up the melee with tear gas.

It has often been erroniously reported that the violence lasted for 2 days when in reality, it only lasted for 45 minutes. There were further clashes at the airport the day after the game.

Injuries and Arrests
In all, 4 people were stabbed during the riots. Two English, one Turkish and one Dutch. A Turkish cameraman was also injured in the riots. In total, 19 people were injured and 60 people were arrested with 15 of the arrested being subsequently banned from attending Euro 2000.

Aftermath
The day after the riots, the executive director of The FA, David Davies issued an apology for the violence. In June, UEFA's executive committee warned the British government that if there was any more rioting then England would be expelled from Euro 2000. In response, the then Prime Minister Tony Blair stated that "Hopefully this threat will bring to their senses anyone tempted to continue the mindless thuggery that had brought such shame to the country."

In August, Arsenal banned 37 people involved in the violence from their Highbury stadium.