• Carling Cup

McLeish furious with Birmingham hooligans

ESPN staff
December 2, 2010
Birmingham fans stormed the pitch after the match © PA Photos
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Birmingham manager Alex McLeish condemned the football hooligans for marring their Carling Cup victory over Aston Villa, but was confident it would not ruin England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup.

Hooligans stormed the pitch on the final whistle and threw chairs and hurled flares following Birmingham's 2-1 victory over their local rivals, and McLeish accused them of taking football back to "dark ages".

"It was pretty horrible to see punters on the pitch - we don't condone that behaviour, it's a return to the dark ages," McLeish said.

"I know we hadn't beaten Villa for a long time, and our fans were treating it like a cup final, which is fair enough. But when you see flares being thrown into the crowd, it's not something you want to be associated with.

"It would have been nice if my players had been able to celebrate reaching a semi-final by giving our supporters a wave from the middle of the pitch, but that was denied us."

The incident happened on the eve of FIFA's decision to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, but McLeish was confident England's bid would not be adversely affected.

"I don't think it will affect the World Cup bid," he said. "I think the vote has probably been decided already and I hope England win it because they deserve it."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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