league football game suspended after ugly brawl erupts between fans and players

Chaos as non-league football game suspended after ugly brawl erupts between fans and players

People could be heard pleading for the violent altercation to stop as it broke out in front of children

Chaos erupted at a non-league football game in Oldham on Saturday (October 18), after an ugly brawl involving fans and players broke out.

The shocking scrap was caught on camera during the Northern Premier League fixture between Avro FC and Kidsgrove Athletic at the Vestacare Stadium on White Bank Road.

Footage, widely shared on social media, appeared to show groups of both players and fans involved in the violent altercation in one of the stands before spilling out to behind a goal post.

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In one of the clips, recorded during the 84th minute, two players appear to run into the crowd before one fan is dragged to the ground while surrounded by supporters, with others attempting to intervene.

A goalkeeper then appears to be seen in an altercation with a spectator, who is seen leaning over the barrier towards the goal post.

Another video, captioned 'get in' shows the brawl from a different angle, with the mass scrap first seen breaking out in the stand as young children watch on. People can be heard shouting 'stop' as another man was thrown to the ground and seen being punched repeatedly.

On Saturday, Kidsgrove Athletic FC issued a club statement after Avro FC earlier said it was "appalled with the behaviour of some fans, players and officials of Kidgsrove Athletic".

The Oldham club posted on X: "Today's game between Avro and Kidsgrove was abandoned in the 84th minute. We as a club are appalled with the behaviour of some fans, players and officials of Kidgsrove Athletic. We will support and cooperate with both the NPL and FA in their investigation of the incidents which occurred in the 84th minute of today's game.

"Avro were leading 6-0 at the time of the event against Kidsgrove nine men due to two players earlier being shown red cards on the field of play. We will await the reports of the referee and FA. No further comment will be made by ourselves on this matter."

Kidsgrove then responded, and posted on its social media pages: "Following the abandonment of today's fixture between Avro FC and Kidsgrove Athletic, we are aware of the statement released by Avro FC. Kidgsrove Atheltic will be submitting a full report to the Northern Premier League and The FA regarding the events that took place.

"We will fully cooperate with any investigation and await the findings before making any further comment. As a club, we do not condone any form of inappropriate behaviour.

"We remain committed to upholding the values of respect and sportsmanship both on and off the pitch. No further statement will be made until the investigation is complete."

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