Two men charged following violence at Port Vale vs Stoke City
Staffordshire Police confirm two men have been charged with using threatening or abusive language
Wednesday 5 December 2018 17:16, UK
Two men have been charged following violent scenes at the Port Vale vs Stoke City Checkatrade Trophy match on Tuesday night.
Sky Bet Championship club Stoke liased with Staffordshire Police after bottles and flares were thrown onto the pitch during the match at Vale Park.
The toilets in the visiting end were also vandalised and all the windows smashed.
Eleven arrests were made for a mixture of public order and violence offences.
Michael Clarke, 61, from Stoke-on-Trent and Jason Green, 34, from Newcastle-under-Lyme have both been charged with using threatening or abusive language.
Both men have been released on conditional bail to report to North Staffordshire Justice Centre on December 18.
A 21-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and has been issued with a community resolution.
A further six men have been released under investigation pending further enquiries, while two other men have been released without charge and no further action.
A Stoke City spokesperson said on Wednesday morning: "The actions of a minority of the crowd at last night's Checkatrade Trophy game against Port Vale were deplorable.
"Where this behaviour involved so-called supporters of Stoke City, we will be working closely with Staffordshire Police and Port Vale to bring the culprits to justice.
"We will be pushing for anyone found guilty of disorder on the night to be handed a lengthy football banning order."
Port Vale have launched an internal investigation into what happened.
The Sky Bet League Two club say repairs have begun at their ground, and they fully expect the next home game against Cheltenham to go ahead a week on Saturday.
Vale increased stewarding for Tuesday's match, and 180 police officers were on duty to try to prevent any violence.
Vale say that, despite the fan rivalries, relations with Stoke at a club level have always been friendly and cooperative.
All 72 EFL clubs reaffirmed a Charter commitment at the start of this season to enforce three-year bans for any fans trying to take flares into a match.
The English Football League released a statement, that said: "The EFL was in attendance and saw first-hand the unacceptable disorder that took place during last night's match between Port Vale and Stoke City Under-21s.
"The EFL will provide whatever assistance that is available to us as the police and the FA conduct their investigations into the matter."
