“I feel very happy winning the prize like this”

Zenit St. Petersburg’s UEFA Cup victory over Glasgow Rangers was marred by fan violence.

Zenit became the second Russian team in four seasons to win Europe’s No. 2 club tournament,

getting a pair of second-half goals in a 2-0 win Wednesday night.

A Russian fan was stabbed outside the stadium, police said, but had non-life threatening injuries.

Police said six men were arrested for serious assault, but did not provide details.

Manchester police blamed excessive alcohol consumption for the “isolated pockets of disorder.”

Even so, police said the day was “largely peaceful” despite several police officers and fans

injured during skirmishes.

About 100,000 fans watched on giant screens in downtown Manchester. Eight fans were

arrested before the match, and violence broke out when one screen broke down 15 minutes

before kickoff.

“As a result, a small number of supporters—who until that point had been largely well-behaved

and had been enjoying the carnival atmosphere—became frustrated and started to pelt the

screen with beer bottles,” Manchester Police said in a statement. “Council workers attempted to

repair the screen, however these attempts failed and supporters, many of which had been

drinking heavily for a number of hours, became increasingly frustrated.”

Buses were arranged to transport fans to a screening at a velodrome next to the stadium, but “a

significant minority” remained at the site and began to confront police.

“A number of people were arrested during the disorder,” the statement said. “A number of

people, including police officers, were injured as officers brought the disorder under control.”

Scottish police said 21 people were arrested on public disorder offenses outside Rangers’ Ibrox

stadium in Glasgow, which hosted 25,000 fans for a public screening.

As for the match, Igor Denisov scored in the 72nd minute after an exchange with Andrei Arshavin,

cutting through the defense and beating goalkeeper Neil Alexander. Konstantin Zyryanov got the

second goal in injury time, tapping the ball over the line off a pass from Fatih Tekke.

“We controlled the game from the very beginning,” Arshavin said through a translator. “We

attacked more. When we were successful against our opponent’s goal, I knew we would win.”

CSKA Moscow became the first Russian club to win a European title in 2005 when it captured the

UEFA Cup. Zenit, which eliminated Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen on the way to the final, is owned

by the Russian natural gas giant Gazprom. Former Russian prime minister Viktor Zubkov

celebrated with players in the locker room, and Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin telephoned

Zenit coach Dick Advocaat with congratulations.

“I feel very happy winning the prize like this,” said Advocaat, who led Rangers from 1998-02 and

won his first European title. “That doesn’t come very often in life. The way we played in this

tournament, we really deserved this.”

Denisov escaped being penalized for a handball early in the second half, with Swedish referee

Peter Frojdfeldt not making a call. Rangers defender Kirk Broadfoot also escaped punishment for

an apparent handball late in the first half.

“I thought it looked as though it was a penalty from the side,” Rangers manager Walter Smith

said on the non-call on Denisov. “Sometimes you get these decisions and, sometimes you don’t.”

Rangers have not won a European title since taking the defunct Cup Winners’ Cup in 1972, when

it defeated Dynamo Moscow.

The Scottish fans filled two-thirds of City of Manchester Stadium and more than 100,000 were in

downtown Manchester watching on giant screens. “We’ve had a terrific tournament,” Smith said. “It doesn’t take away the disappointment, but in the

end I can have no complaints.”(source: yahoo/ap)