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      in Soccer

      We live by a major UK stadium – here’s why it’s the best place in the city to have a home

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      FOOTBALL fans who live in the shadow of one of Britain’s best-known stadiums say it’s the best place in the city to have a home.The homes on Wesley Street, which leads down to Leeds United’s Elland Road ground, are pretty much all owned by fans of the club and there’s hardly ever a for sale sign outside any of them.
      Wesley Street lies in the shadow of the famous Elland Road stadiumCredit: NB PRESS LTD
      Gran Joyce Brown has lived in the street since 1963 when the properties were first builtCredit: NB PRESS LTD
      Simon Dyson has lived on the road since he was three and loves itCredit: NB PRESS LTD
      Even the telephone junction boxes in the street are daubed with Leeds United badges, celebrations of by-gone players and famous chants.
      Joyce Brown, an 85-year-old grandmother, has been a season ticket holder at Elland Road for 65 years and moved into her red-brick semi in 1963 when the houses were built so she could be close to her club.
      Joyce even admitted that she and her now late husband Alan cut their honeymoon short so they could watch a game.
      She said: “Me and Alan even cut our honeymoon to Blackpool short so that we could watch a game. This is the best place to live in Leeds.”
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      Alan, who died I 1995, has his ashes interned in the Elland Road pitch.
      “Our love of Leeds United was the reason we bought this house,” said Joyce.
      “I have seen some ups and downs at the club since I watched my first game as a 12-year-old girl.”
      Joyce used to go to Leeds United games with her grandad. “But their situation, now, is upsetting me more than ever.”
      Most read in Football
      She is not happy with the players who want to leave since relegation.
      “Alan is at the ground behind the goalposts now. We are there together at the home games still,” she said.
      Joyce can barely remember missing a game at Elland Road, other than the Covid gap, when no spectators were allowed in the ground.
      “I find it hard to think of a home game that I’ve missed. I have missed some, but not many,” she said.
      “It’s awful to say, but I have lived my life around Leeds United.”
      Joyce gave birth to her youngest son Simon at home in 1966.
      She said: “I was here and gave birth over the Friday and Saturday night to Simon. I wanted to go and watch the game against Arsenal on the Saturday afternoon, but the midwife wouldn’t let me go. We won 2-1.”
      Simon Dyson, 31, has lived on the street since he was three years old and loves it.
      The aluminium fabricator said: “I was near enough born and bred here and I’m a massive Leeds fan – you’ve got to be really.
      “It’s a beautiful view waking up to the sight of the stadium.
      “Supporting Leeds has its ups and down and it is a hard task sometimes, but I’ll never get tired of living here.
      “There is never any trouble. You can hear the crowd and can tell when they’ve scored when I’m at home. I wouldn’t move.
      “Parking isn’t a problem either because I have my permit. It’s all good.”
      Dawn Oates, 55, lives right at the bottom of Wesley Street and her house boasts a Leeds United mural on the gable end facing the ground.
      Dawn was born within a stone’s throw of the stadium in a back-to-back terrace house, which has since been demolished to make way for one of the club’s car parks.
      She has also worked as the bar supervision of the unofficial club pub The Old Peacock – which stands opposite the ground – for the last 36 years.
      Dawn said: “I have lived in the shadow of the Elland Road stadium for all of my life. I was born here.
      “I’m a season ticket holder. I work, then go and see the match – it’s great.
      “There’s no trouble now. Years ago, there would be away coaches turning up around here, but not now.
      “I’m very proud to live around here. I leave for work and it takes me just five minutes and then I can pop to the game.”
      Next door neighbour Julie Ridings, 62, doesn’t care for football, but her husband Tony is a season ticket holder.
      “I’m not a Leeds fan, but my husband is. He’s a season ticket holder,” said Julie.
      Read More on The Sun
      “The crowds don’t bother me. We’ve lived here for that long that it is just part and parcel of it.
      “We moved here 39 years ago. It keeps him happy and quiet and so I don’t mind it. I don’t like football, but I like living here.”
      Another superfan who lives in the road, Julie Ridings has a mural painted on her home dedicated to the clubCredit: NB PRESS LTD
      Leeds United’s Elland Road and the famous statue of footballing legend Billy BremnerCredit: NB PRESS LTD
      Dawn Oates lives at the bottom of Wesley StreetCredit: NB PRESS LTD More

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      in Soccer

      West Ham fans clash with cops in riot gear and set off flare as celebrations get out of control after team’s Europa win

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      WEST Ham fans clashed with riot cops and set off a flare as celebrations over their side’s Europa win got out of hand last night.There were jubilant scenes inside the ground as the East London side lifted their first major trophy in 43 years with a 2-1 win over Italy’s Fiorentina.
      A West Ham fan lit a flareCredit: The Sun
      Cops moved in to remove the lad with the flareCredit: The Sun
      One witness told The Sun ‘all hell broke loose’Credit: The Sun
      As the celebrations spilled out onto the Prague streets, Hammers fans lined up against police dressed in riot gear.
      A flare was let off in the crowd with one witness saying “all hell broke loose”.
      Jurre Uijtendaal, 22, told The Sun: “Someone let a flare off – we were singing and it all got a bit too much for the police.
      “They decided to let off a strike to cool it down. They tried to take down the guy with the flare.
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      “All hell broke loose and the police noticed they were outnumbered so they formed a circle.”
      The Prague cops resorted to using pepper spray after they moved in to cart off the lad with the flare.
      Jake Masterton, 23, from Kent, said: “There was a lad holding a flare – nothing more. Nobody kicking off or anything.
      “Police just stormed through and grabbed him and wheeled him off. He was a young guy too.
      Most read in Europa League
      “Then they just formed a little unit in the middle and all the fans started fighting back – then the pepper spray came out.  
      “It’s a shambolic showing from the police. We’re all just enjoying this win. We can light off a flare of two if we want.”
      Riot police in the Old Town area of the city stormed the group, with fans responding by pelting the officers with bottles and missiles.
      Earlier in the day Czech police said they had detained at least 16 Italian fans after they attacked West Ham supporters outside a bar, with videos shared on social media showing chairs and fireworks being thrown.
      Celebrations were overall good-natured after the match, with revellers hugging and kissing each other and dancing on tables in bars.
      Chants of “2-1 to the cockney boys” and “Irons” also broke out as the Londoners celebrated the win.
      The final took place at the Fortuna Arena, which has a capacity of around 19,300, with West Ham receiving an official ticket allocation of 5,000, although many more travelled from the UK to be in the city during the game.
      Supporters watched in bars around the city, including a group who went wild at McCarthy’s Pub in the Old Town area from the moment Jarrod Bowen gave the team the lead in the final minute of the second half.
      West Ham fan Aaron, 18, said it felt “unreal” to win.
      “(I’ve) never felt like it in my life,” he said.
      He said his plan for the rest of the night was to “stumble back to the hotel”.
      “How we get there I don’t care,” he added.
      It came hours after West Ham fans were ambushed by Fiorentina ultras armed with chairs and metal bars in what was called an unprovoked brawl.
      Czech police said three people were injured during the incident, with one police officer being attacked.
      One witness said fans of the Italian side were armed with “chains and belt buckles”.
      There was also controversy during the match as Cristiano Biraghi of Fiorentina was seen bleeding from the back of the head after he appeared to have been hit by an object thrown from the West Ham stand.
      Read more on The Sun
      Shortly before the game ended, the English club put out a statement condemning the behaviour of a “small number of individuals”, adding: “These actions have no place in football, and do not in any way represent the values of our football club and the overwhelming majority of our supporters, who have behaved impeccably in Prague this week and throughout our last two seasons in European competition.”
      The club said it would work with police to review the incident and take action against offenders, including implementing lifetime bans.
      Celebrations were initially good-natured after the matchCredit: The Sun
      West Ham has condemned the actions of a ‘small number of individuals’Credit: The Sun
      Cops are said to have used pepper spray to stop the disturbanceCredit: The Sun
      Trouble flared in the Old Town area of the cityCredit: The Sun More