Adam Derbyshire
31/ 3/2008
THE mum of a Manchester United fan jailed for fighting in Rome has pleaded with other supporters to stay away from the Italian capital tomorrow night (Tuesday).
The Reds will be playing their fifth Champions League match against Roma in little over a year, and previous clashes have been marred by violence.
Kyle Dillon was one of four English fans imprisoned last December after fights broke out between rival supporters when United visited Roma for a group stage match. His mother Janet urged United supporters should not to go to Tuesday's game because British police could not guarantee their safety.
And she said that any trouble might have a detrimental effect on a legal appeal scheduled for May 2, which could see 23-year-old Kyle, Richard Wimmer, 39, Nicholas Lucas, 18, and Michael Burk, 35, released.
Mrs Dillon, from Mottram, near Hyde, said: "Don't go to the game, it isn't safe. Our police cannot protect you and the Italian police will not protect you because they are part of the problem.
"If you do have to go to the game, stay out of trouble. Because of the proximity of the two games to the appeal date, any trouble could have an effect on the outcome of the appeal."
The four were part of a group which broke from other fans on their way to the ground and became embroiled in clashes with Roma's notorious `Ultras' at the Duca d'Aosta bridge.
Three United fans were stabbed outside Roma's ground last April, when the two clubs also met at the quarter-final stage. There were violent scenes inside the Stadio Olimpico, and scuffles erupted outside Old Trafford during the second leg a week later, with 21 people arrested.
Greater Manchester Police have urged fans to be on their best behaviour. Transport to and from the ground has been arranged for United supporters, to head off trouble on the bridge.
And police say anyone choosing to make their own way to the stadium - or planning to buy tickets from touts - could put themselves in danger.
