A man was taken to hospital after trouble flared at an FA Cup tie between Macclesfield FC and Wythenshawe Town. Meanwhile, the Manchester club have been mocked on social media for a complaint about the food at they were offered at the game.
Wythenshawe travelled to Macclesfield's Moss Rose ground, now officially called The Leasing.com Stadium for a clash in a preliminary round of the famous old competition on Saturday afternoon (August 6).
However, the game was overshadowed by violence which erupted in the stands. Footage shared on social media shows a number of supporters clashing in front of the Silkmen Terrace behind one of the goals, as stewards and police officers attempt to separate them.
Police have confirmed they responded to "disorder" at the game and that a 22-year-old man was injured and was taken to hospital for treatment. However his injuries were "minor" he has since been discharged, they added.
An investigation into the trouble by Cheshire Constabulary is ongoing but officers have appealed for witnesses to come forward.
The Cheshire Police Rural Crime Team said on their Facebook page on Saturday: "When the call for extra officers goes out on the air, we all respond. Sadly there has just been an issue at Macclesfield Football Club which absorbed quite a few police officers whilst we made sure no further incidents occurred.
"Thank you to all the residents and people passing by for your patience whilst we put things in place. Thank you to all the fans who came to enjoy the game and weren't involved in the incident."
Phoenix club Macclesfield, who used to be known as Macclesfield Town, were re-born as Macclesfield FC in 2021 and began life in the ninth tier of English football. Former Premier League star turned TV and radio commentator and pundit Robbie Savage is the club's director of football operations.
Macc beat North West Counties League Premier Division side Wythenshawe 2-0 to progress to the next round. Afterward, both clubs issued statements condemning the scenes.
Macclesfield said stewards "quite quickly become overpowered by a few mindless thugs who were clearly intent on violence." They confirmed the terrace where the violence occured would be reserved for away fans only moving forward.
Director Robert Smethurst said: “Macclesfield FC is and always will be a Community Club. I will not let the minority detract us from that. As such there can be no alternative but to impose full segregation on the Silkmen Terrace going forward.
“I hope that this has not soured what has undoubtedly been another great victory for us on the pitch today.”
Wythenshawe Town said in a statement on their website: "Wythenshawe Town are proud of the performance of the team yesterday. There was a clear game plan and we are delighted this almost paid off.
"We are disappointed that there was crowd trouble. As with any supporter issue, there is fingers pointed at the opposition to pass blame. The club would like to make it clear that we categorically will not stand for violence from our supporters.
"We are proud of our fan base and thank you for your support yesterday. Social media has shown that our supporters behaved fantastically yesterday as images have circulated of our supporters engaging with young Macclesfield fans. This is what our club is about.
"Of course there may be a minority that behaved out of line. We don't condone this. We will not make a further comment on that until a full investigation has taken place. "
They then added: "That said, we are also disappointed with the treatment of our players. One tray of cheese sandwiches in the dressing room for hospitality. It is disappointing and something that we will also look into. This leaves a sour taste in the mouth.
"We will not be derailed and we thank you all for your fantastic support!"
Joking about the complaint on Facebook, Gary Turnbull said: "Only cheese sarnies has Wythenshawe Town players in a pickle! lol." Glyn Singleton said: "They Feta sort it out sharpish."
Former Chelsea and Blackburn striker Chris Sutton tweeted the club's statement to his fellow BBC and BT Sport colleague Robbie Savage saying: "A very important club statement. WTFC upset over the treatment of their players as only one tray of cheese sandwiches was provided in the dressing room. “It left a sour taste” the statement reads! Spot on. Moneybags Macclesfield @RobbieSavage8 sort this out #yourebetterthanthis "
Though the club clearly saw the funny side themselves tweeting their report of the match with the headline "Mac & Cheese!" and telling Match of the Day they were "very grateful" for a post about it.
Anyone with information about the trouble is being to report it to Cheshire Police online here vquoting the incident number 1335548. Alternatively they can them on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
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