A force football officer has warned fans to expect consequences if they cause trouble on matchdays.
Officers were called to the bus station in Quaker Way following disorder reportedly involving Mansfield Town and Rotherham United fans.
The crowds had dispersed by the time police arrived – around 5.10 pm on 21 December – shortly after the end of the League One tie at the Stags’ One Call Stadium.
Several away fans were left with minor injuries following the incident, with officers reviewing available CCTV to try to track down the rival supporters involved who had fled from the scene.
These inquiries have since led to officers identifying four suspects – three men aged 19 and a 25-year-old man – and arresting them all on suspicion of affray last Wednesday (5 February).
All four suspects have been bailed with conditions, while inquiries continue into the incident.
PC John Albanese, dedicated football officer for Nottinghamshire Police, said: “The majority of fans just want to attend the matches and have a good time, whether they win or lose; however, there is a small percentage that perceives football as a means to become involved in mindless violence and antisocial behaviour.
“Incidents like this give football clubs – and football supporters in general – a bad reputation, while they leave visitors to areas, in this case Mansfield, with a negative experience of their day out.
“We don’t want this, and we know local communities don’t want this either, so my plea to anyone thinking of getting involved in this behaviour would be to think about the consequences of their actions and to behave themselves.
“It’s important people know that, should they become involved in football-related disorder on a matchday, even if it’s not within a stadium, they could still receive a football banning order preventing them from attending their team’s matches in the near future.
“We’re pleased to have arrested four suspects in connection with this incident but want to stress inquiries are still ongoing, so we’d ask anyone with any information about what happened to share it with us by calling 101, quoting incident 225 of 21 December 2024.”
