Liverpool and Everton hooligans once teamed up to take on a notorious English firm.

Hooligans from Merseyside rivals Liverpool and Everton once united against a well-known English firm in a shocking display of football violence.

 

Although football hooliganism is largely remembered as an issue from the 1980s, occasional outbreaks of violence still occur near British stadiums. The “casuals” movement, which combined high-end fashion with football-related fights, first emerged in northwest England — particularly Liverpool and Manchester — during the late 1970s and early 1980s.

 

Thanks to tighter security and surveillance since the 1990s, hooliganism has significantly declined. However, it hasn’t vanished entirely — as demonstrated by events on February 19, 2005.

 

That day, Wayne Rooney returned to Goodison Park to lead Manchester United to a 2-0 FA Cup win over Everton, courtesy of goals from Quinton Fortune and Cristiano Ronaldo. Yet the match was marred by violent clashes outside the ground.

 

Following the 5:30 pm kickoff, scuffles broke out between fans, resulting in 33 arrests and injuries to five police officers. Earlier in the day, United supporters had already been involved in altercations with Leeds fans at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station before heading to Liverpool.

 

After the match, United fans were escorted through north Liverpool but were attacked by Everton supporters throwing bottles and bricks. Chief Inspector Chris Armitt estimated that around 300 rival fans were involved in the violence. Four officers were injured, and one required hospital treatment for a broken hand and stitches.

 

Reports from the Liverpool Echo suggested that some Liverpool fans joined Everton supporters against Manchester United after the visitors sang offensive songs about the city.

 

In Danny Dyer’s The Real Football Factories, former Everton hooligan Andy Nicholls recalled: “Thirty of their main lads peeled off and called it on… Everton had 200 and filled them in.”

 

Eddie “Beef,” a member of United’s “Red Army” firm, disputed that version: “United stood their ground and got jumped by 200 people. They didn’t do us — we’re hard as nails.”

 

Nicholls fired back, calling Eddie’s claim “talking s***.”

 

Notably, Nicholls had previously received a two-year banning order in 2003, prohibiting him from attending any football ground i

n England or Wales.