{"id":541657,"date":"2020-01-26T18:02:27","date_gmt":"2020-01-26T23:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=541657"},"modified":"2020-02-15T16:30:41","modified_gmt":"2020-02-15T21:30:41","slug":"arrests-made-as-man-suffers-fractured-skull-before-coventry-v-birmingham-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/01\/26\/arrests-made-as-man-suffers-fractured-skull-before-coventry-v-birmingham-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Arrests Made as Man Suffers Fractured Skull Before Coventry v Birmingham City"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Midlands Police arrested two men after a man was attacked shortly before Coventry City<\/a> took on Birmingham City at St Andrew’s on Saturday.<\/p>\n

Arrests Made as Man Suffers Fractured Skull Before Coventry City v Birmingham City<\/h2>\n

Police Appeal For Witnesses<\/h3>\n

The incident came roughly 15 minutes before kick-off in the FA Cup tie at St Andrew’.<\/p>\n

It occurred as fans walked on Cattell Road, Small Heath, at around 2.45pm.<\/p>\n

A 22-year-old man was knocked to the floor and suffered a fractured skull near to the junction of Tilton Road.<\/p>\n

Reports by Coventry Live on Sunday at 10.30am claimed the man was in a stable condition in hospital.<\/p>\n

Two men, aged 25 and 45, were arrested on suspicion of assault and later released pending investigation.<\/p>\n

West Midlands Police is appealing for witnesses to the assault on Catell Road.<\/p>\n

‘It Was Chaos’<\/h3>\n

In an isolated attack after the match, one spectator described an atmosphere of ‘chaos’ as supporters clashed.<\/p>\n

Sky Blues supporter Liam Wozencroft told CoventryLive how he was punched in the side of the head on his travels.<\/p>\n

The 39-year-old was reportedly ambushed by a group of around 20 men; the group allegedly had their faces covered by scarves and hoods outside a pub on Rea Street.<\/p>\n

Liam said: “It was horrendous. I was walking back up from the ground and a few people were having a bit of banter, there was nothing unusual, and then as I walked up the atmosphere completely changed.<\/p>\n

“There was a big group of people outside a pub, they had covered up their faces with only their eyes showing.<\/p>\n

‘Out of Nowhere I Got Punched’<\/h3>\n

“I had headphones in listening to the phone-in on the radio not paying much attention and out of nowhere I got punched to the side to the head.<\/p>\n

“It was \u2018wallop\u2019 and they were swarming around, shouting. I stumbled to the side a bit, it wasn\u2019t a strong punch, but I was left in shock as I wasn\u2019t expecting it.<\/p>\n

“My first thought was to get out of there, it was chaos. I went and told the police further up the street what had happened but they just said to keep moving.<\/p>\n

“It felt like a pre-planned ambush. As I walked on more and more police cars and vans were pulling up all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lifelong Sky Blues fan also described seeing police officers outside Digbeth Coach Station with their batons drawn.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cI\u2019ve been going to the football for years and years and I have to go back to the nineties to find a time when I\u2019ve experienced anything like this. I won\u2019t be going to the replay and I would advise fans who do to have their wits about them and not to walk to the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said<\/a>: “At around 5pm, we received reports of minor trouble as fans travelled away through Digbeth. It was dealt with as part of the police operation.”<\/p>\n

The replay is scheduled for Tuesday, 4 February.<\/p>\n

Birmingham City Arrests Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>