Millwall and Everton fans clash in mass brawl

A man was slashed in the face during a mass brawl between Everton and Millwall fans ahead of their FA Cup meeting at The Den on Saturday afternoon.

Local residents recorded the disgraceful scenes outside Surrey Quays station in south-east London as the two sets of supporters engaged in a huge punch-up before making their way to the ground.

The Toffees' travelling support were confronted as they arrived and a large group of match-goers fought by Southwark Park in the build-up to kick off.

The two sets of supporters swung a flurry of punches at each other as the hectic scene was recorded by police with GoPro cameras.

Police officers on horses eventually managed to break up the brawl by using batons as one man walked away with a nasty gash down the side of his face.

Following the fights, a police spokesperson confirmed that the knife injury sustained by one supporter was not thought to be life-threatening.

The Metropolitan Police released a statement on the incident that read: 'At around 16:42hrs officers became aware of a large group of males fighting in the Hawkstone Road area.

'One male aged in his 20s was discovered suffering from a slash wound to the face. He was taken by LAS to a south London hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening.

'A crime scene remains in place. Officers worked to separate the groups with support from the Mounted Branch. At this early stage, there have been no arrests.'

Detective Inspector Darren Young, of the South Central Command Unit, added: 'The behaviour of those involved in this incident is nothing short of disgraceful and those involved can be certain we will be working to identify them.

'We are aware of the video circulating online, which has quite rightly elicited shock and disgust. We are looking at it and urge anyone with information that could assist police to call 101 referring CAD 5117/26 Jan.'

More fights broke out in the surrounding areas of Millwall's ground, as big groups of Toffee fans chanted songs while walking past a pub full of Lions supporters.

Glasses, chairs and other objects were hurled from the pub's beer garden as the large group of Everton fans stood on the other side of the road.

Missiles were thrown back at the pub's garden as cars slowly drove by due to the large number of fans occupying the road.

One resident who recorded the clashes described the conflict as 'too much' before noticing that nearby cars were getting damaged because of the thrown objects.

Everton supporters arriving by coach were also confronted by Millwall fans before they made their way to the ground.

As police guarded the side door of the coach, Lions supporters goaded the travelling fans before a bottle was thrown at one of the bus windows.

Chants of 'Millwall' were shouted by some before both sets of fans made their way into the Championship ground.