LONDON (AFP) - Ugly scenes of crowd violence returned to mar English football as Liverpool fans became incensed during their side's 3-0 win at Millwall's The Den.
Following exchanges of taunts between the two sets of supporters, angry Liverpool fans fought with police officers and two Reds followers were arrested for violent disorder as 68 seats were damaged in the North Stand housing the 2,943 visiting spectators in the 17,655 crowd.
A further three Liverpool fans were ejected from The New Den as was one home supporter.
A Millwall fan was arrested for drunkenness while another was taken into custody for violent disorder in a separate incident.
Both managers were keen to avoid discussing the scenes that detracted from a sparkling substitute performance from Czech striker Milan Baros who added two goals to Senegal midfielder Salif Diao's opener.
"That wasn't our punters, that was the Liverpool fans," said Millwall manager Dennis Wise.
"I don't really want to harp on about that. That's down to them, that's not down to us. I'd rather talk about the game."
Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez added that the such incidents should never be seen at football matches.
"I have seen something but I don't know what happened. In a stadium, you must really see good football if it's possible," the Spaniard said.
Part-way through the second-half, fighting broke out in the Millwall's main stand, and following taunting chants, an angry reaction sparked from supporters in both tiers of the adjacent Liverpool end behind Millwall keeper Graham Stack's goal in the second half.
Supporters raced down the exit tunnels in the upper tier of the away end and as fans surged towards the front of the stand where disabled supporters were located, one disabled fan was knocked over as fighting broke out with police officers who wielded batons.
Chair seats and coins were thrown from the upper tier towards the home supporters and police re-emerged in riot gear with helmets and shields to restore order through to full-time.
Liverpool fans were held in the North Stand after the match in an attempt to allow home supporters to clear the area.
Millwall had a dreadful reputation for supporter violence throughout the 1980s but have gone to great lengths to clean up their image since moving to a new purpose-built ground in 1993.
Away supporters now have a separate access tunnel to the nearest railway station and home fans must carry membership cards aimed at deterring trouble-makers.
But the club's past reputation appears to be hard to shake off.
The Lions reached last season's FA Cup final against Manchester United, thus qualifying for the UEFA Cup despite losing 3-0.
However, Hungarian double-holders Ferencvaros beat them 4-2 on aggregate at the first hurdle.
Four fans of the south east London club were stabbed in fighting which took place before kick-off while missiles were thrown during the match in Budapest on September 30.
Around 60 Millwall and Ferencvaros fans clashed in downtown Budapest, with riot squads using tear gas to restore order. Two Britons were taken into custody.
10/27/2004 - 09:29 GMT - AFP