Manchester rioters due in court

Thirteen suspected football hooligans are due in court today accused of taking part in rioting following the 2008 UEFA Cup final in Manchester.

All the suspects - 11 adults and two juveniles - are charged with violent disorder following Glasgow Rangers' defeat by Zenit St Petersburg in Manchester in May last year.

Scott McSeveney, 21, of Shotts, North Lanarkshire, and Mark Stoddart, 25, from Glasgow, are also both charged with assault on a police officer.

Around 150,000 football fans were in the city for the final against Zenit at the City of Manchester Stadium.

A big screen for fans without a ticket to watch the match failed in the early evening, triggering widespread disturbances throughout the city centre.

Thousands of drunken Rangers hooligans fought running battles with police as they rampaged through Manchester city centre in more than five hours of trouble.

In separate incidents, two police officers became separated from their units, surrounded by hooligans, knocked to the ground and kicked and stamped on, during the violence.

Along with McSeveney and Stoddart, the other defendants are Greg McKenna, 22, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire; Brian McVicar, 19, of East Kilbride; Gordon Forrest, 35, of Bearsden, Glasgow; James Bell, 42, of Cumbernauld, Glasgow; Thomas Murphy, 27, of Greenock; David McCullough, 20, of Burnage, Manchester; David Annette, 34, of Chorley, Lancashire; John Saunders, 31, of Cumbernauld, Glasgow, Michael Hindle, 21, of Leyland, Lancashire, and two 17-year-old's, from Glasgow.

All are on unconditional bail. They will appear before Manchester Magistrates Court at 9.30am, where their cases will be formally committed to Manchester Crown Court.