The Atherstone Ball game descended into chaos on Tuesday, after violence broke out on the streets throughout the two-hour medieval tradition.
The game is an historic one, and has been played out for centuries on Shrove Tuesday in the town of Atherstone between two rival counties in Warwickshire and Leicestershire. The 2023 edition however has been tainted.
Thousands of people turned up to compete, with the aim of the game being the one to be holding onto the ball come the end of the final whistle after two hours. Tuesday saw the 823rd edition of the event, with just one year missed since being formed in 1199 which came two years ago in 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
