WATCH: UK hooligans involved in vicious street fight between Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers casuals

Independent.ie Newsdesk

English soccer hooligans and Shamrock Rovers ‘Casuals’ fought a pitched battle with Bohs supporters – after a bizarre incident where a flag was stolen from a hotel.

Our video shows the mass brawl on Dorset Street before Shamrock Rovers’ defeat to Bohemians at Dalymount Park on Friday, October 7.

A number of hooligans who travelled from the UK, who have links to both Irish clubs, were involved in the fight.

Tensions had been raised before the match when Wrexham fans – who have links to Bohs – went undercover and stole a flag left by Bury fans in a hotel in Tallaght. The Bury ‘crew’ are aligned to Shamrock Rovers and regularly travel to Dublin for games.

The Wrexham fans managed to get their hands on their rival’s flag by telling hotel staff they were there to collect it. The flag was subsequently ripped up during the match in Dalymount and eventually ended up in the hands of unwitting Bohs players.

The eye-witness who took the video told Independent.ie:  “I was going towards Drumcondra through Dorset Street when I saw that crowd of people.

“At first I thought that they were only coming from an event or a match. But I quickly realised that they were there to fight because of the bottles that were flying around.

“Then I started to record. In the video you can't see but a guy was running in the sidewalk with his head completely covered in blood.

“Then the crowd started to come my direction. I think the guys that I was behind were losing the fight, and I just stopped recording and cycled my bike like hell.”