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12th September 2023
01:37pm BST
Concerns over the heavy-handed nature of the Police Force have been aired after a football fan was forcefully ejected from The Racecourse Ground in Wrexham over a two-fingered salute.
The North Wales outfit - which has seen its fortunes markedly improve since the arrival of Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - hosted Doncaster Rovers at home at the weekend, bagging all three points after Elliot Lee struck with two minutes left on the clock.
Luke Young put the home side one up after 37 minutes following a sustained spell of pressure, but The Red Dragons were pinned back shortly after halftime thanks to a Modou Faal strike.
The game was end-to-end for much of its duration, and there was certainly plenty for the 10,254 people in attendance to shout about.
But one incident that occurred shortly after AFC Wrexham went 1-0 up has cast a shadow over the match for the travelling fans.
According to reports, North Wales Police officers in the away terrace intervened after a Rovers fan "raised a two-fingered salute toward the home end".
Eyewitnesses say the supporter was "strangled" against a concrete wall and then dragged out despite not showing any resistance.
When others tried to intervene they were told they'd also have their "big day out ruined", seemingly in reference to Wrexham's newfound notoriety.
Speaking to JOE, Louis Bailey, who was at the game and witnessed the incident, expressed concern over the heavy-handed nature of policing at football matches, saying that unforced interventions seem to becoming commonplace.
Others on social media agreed, with one person saying you "see it too often with certain forces" and another concurring with Bailey's statement that fans too often get told how to travel, where to walk, where they can be and what they can do because there is a match ticket in their pocket.
Responding to the incident, North Wales Police told JOE: “We are pleased to report there were no major incidents of disorder and no arrests made at the recent Wrexham AFC v Doncaster Rovers match.
“However, two people were ejected from the stadium in line with the Ground Regulations published by the EFL.”
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