Veteran football hooligans from the notorious Chelsea Headhunters gang were among thugs who went on the rampage smashing up shops and cafes in France as they fought with rival Paris St Germain thugs, it emerged today.
Police said around 300 hooligans were involved in the pre-planned violence that erupted ahead of Chelsea’s Champion’s League defeat yesterday in the French capital.
Many of the English ringleaders were members of the notorious Chelsea Headhunters, whose roots stretch back to the late 60s, while police said many of the Paris St Germain thugs were also veteran hooligans from the disbanded Kop of Boulogne hooligan firm.
It is believed the hardcore Chelsea hooligans had entered France via Belgium to avoid detection by police.
The worst of the trouble took place in the Chatelet area of the city, where fighting took place outside three pubs.
The fans had been drinking for most of the afternoon outside the Frog and Rosbif pub before they moved across the road to The Thistle.
The English supporters could be seen making “Sieg Heil” Nazi salutes and chanting racist abuse, including singing English Defence League songs in front of black Parisians, before they started attacking Paris Saint-Germain fans in the hours before the match.
It led to disturbing scenes in the centre of the French capital last night, with cafes and bar terraces attacked, along with shops and fast food restaurants.
One Chelsea fan caught up in the disturbance, said: “They were men in their 40s and 50s who have been arranging these kinds of fights for years.
“They managed to avoid detection by the police on their way into France, and then they set up the meeting with the local hooligans.
“You could hear them shouting ‘Headhunters’ as they rampaged through the streets, smashing up anything that got in their way. Kids were also involved, but the veterans led the way.”
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Bottles were first thrown outside the Thistle pub at around 7.15pm, and then the two sets of supporters stormed down the Rue St Denis, towards the River Seine.
Flares were let off as the police struggled to contain the disturbances because of a mass demonstration taking place outside the French justice ministry, around a mile-and-a-half away.
This was one of the reasons that none of the football thugs was arrested, despite the fighting and damage to property.
A police spokesman said finally 80 riot police were deployed to try to bring the situation under control.
He said: “There were at least 300 people involved – they were a mixture of fans from Chelsea and PSG and they had arranged to meet.
“Our priority was to disperse the crowds, and to make the area safe.”
Chelsea were provided with just over 2,000 of tickets for the game, meaning that thousands of their fans could not get into the Parc des Princes for the Champions League quarter final.
Paris St Germain won the game 3-1, and their fans will now travel to Stamford Bridge next week for the second leg of the tie.
