POLICE made 20 arrests following Lincoln City's much anticipated pre-season friendly with Celtic.
Trouble blew up in the lower part of the High Street following the match on Saturday, with both Imps and Hoops fans being arrested.
The arrests were for assault, public order offences and one for possession of a flare. As the Echo went to press no one had been charged.
The Echo heard from passers-by in the High Street that a St George's flag was burned outside the Golden Cross and later pro-IRA and anti-military songs could be heard.
Between 2,000 and 4,000 Celtic fans were expected to travel to the city from all corners of the UK, but the total attendance at Sincil Bank was just 3,780.
Dozens of police officers and riot vans were present for most of the day.
The game went largely without incident apart from flares being let off and a scuffle between Celtic fans.
Lincolnshire Police's football intelligence officer PC Andy Pearson said: "It's fair to say it was a challenging day.
"There was some disorder at the Golden Cross pub and some after the match and a lot of that was flared by the inflammatory nature of the songs from Celtic fans. Many of the incidents were fuelled by alcohol.
"Apart from an incident between Celtic fans there were no problems at the ground.
"There were quite a number of police resources deployed and we will be seeking banning orders for those people arrested.
"The majority of the disorder was kept away from the precinct and shoppers, which was a priority."
Earlier in the day, a sea of green flooded the High Street as fans drank at the Golden Cross and the Ritz.
Many of those had travelled from Glasgow to see their hero, Imps manager Chris Sutton.
Tony Clark, 23, of Clydebank, set off for Lincoln at 5am.
He said: "Chris Sutton is my hero and I wanted to see him waving goodbye to the Celtic fans because he never said goodbye.
Sutton is regarded as a Celtic legend having scored 63 goals in 130 appearances at Parkhead between 2000 and 2006.
The striker helped the Glasgow club win three Scottish Premier League titles, two Scottish Cups and two Scottish League Cups, but many supporters feel he was not given a proper send-off when he departed in early 2006.
Mark Rambo, 23, said: "Chris Sutton is a hero, that's why we are all here."
Charlie Creane, landlord of the Golden Cross, said: "The fans were here just singing and drinking and that's as far as they went.
"I was cleaning up and there were about six Celtic fans leaving when some local youths came up and started taunting them.
"My daughter got caught in the crossfire and got a gash on her head."
http://www.thisislincolnshire.co.uk/news/20-Imps-Hoops-fans-arrested-trouble-flares-pre-season-friendly/article-2453727-detail/article.html
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