Nothing like a good old-fashioned bout of hooliganism to ready oneself for a big Champions League match, at least, that's what, on first glance, it looked like Sevilla and Manchester City fans were doing Wednesday in a Manchester brawl prior to the Manchester City-Sevilla game.
But first glance would be wrong in this case. It turns out neither fan base is the culprit here (we think).
It's not believed the brawl had anything to do with the Manchester City-Sevilla Champions League match, other than the fact Sevilla fans were there.
According to both The Guardian and Sports Illustrated, the aggressors in this fight were likely not supporters of Manchester City or Sevilla, instead it's believed that supporters of Polish Club Slask Wroclaw instigated the brawl. Slask Wroclaw fans clashed with Sevilla fans in Sevilla in 2013 when the teams met in a Europa League playoff.
At least three of the four people arrested for the brawl were Polish and wearing Slask Wroclaw colors, The Guardian reported.
Manchester Brawl Motives
Why were three (or possibly four) Slask Wroclaw fans in Manchester the day of a Champions League game featuring Sevilla? We don't know. Maybe this is part of a wider conspiracy of Slask Wroclaw fans tracking Sevilla and attacking Sevilla fans to get vengeance for some unnamed and as yet umpuniched wrong. Or maybe they were on holiday and just happened to catch sight of a group of Sevilla fans and the red mist descended. Theories abound, but we're willing to bet more comes out on the motives of the alleged attackers.
Next time these fan groups meet, though, they should bring along Michael Buffer just in case.
(H/T Deadspin)
Contact The18 Staff Writer Sam Klomhaus at Klomhaus@The18.com or follow him on Twitter @SamKlomhaus
