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Eleven people have been arrested after up to 100 football hooligans were involved in a brawl in Coventry.
Police believe the violence which flared in Earlsdon High Street - six miles from Coventry City's Ricoh Arena - was pre-arranged.
Witnesses reported seeing men on mobile phones shortly before trouble broke out, hours before Coventry's match with Leicester City.
Knives were seized by the police and one man suffered minor head injuries.
A police spokesman said CCTV footage of the incident, which happened at 1130 GMT, was also being studied.
Witnesses described "hordes" of men spreading out across the street and throwing bricks at each other.
One eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: "We've never had anything like this before in this area.
"I saw a load of men, probably in their 50s, on phones and it was obvious they were planning something, then it all kicked off.
"The police moved in swiftly but we've got absolutely no idea why it happened here."
Another said: "One came up to us with blood on his knuckles and asked if we had a local cab number, so we told the police to go and get him."
Although Earlsdon, a pleasant residential suburb, is miles from Coventry's ground, it is within walking distance of the city's main railway station and would have once been used by fans travelling to the old Highfield Road ground.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hyde of West Midlands Police said: "This was a determined effort to cause violence and our response has been swift.
"It does emphasise the need for extra police resources on match days and in and around football grounds.
"It is very unusual for disorder to break out in the Earlsdon area, and all indications at the moment suggest that the violence was planned.
"While the majority of football fans are law abiding, police will deal robustly with the minority intent on causing violence and disorder."
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Kicked off after Leicester v Norwich last week.
Do we delude ourselves in nthinking that because it doesn't happen in stadiums that there is no football violence in this country anymore ?
I'm not usually in teh Town Centre much before or after games so I won't see anything - do people who attend regularly see any bother ?
Tomorrow's Cup final will be a nightmare to Police.
Police believe the violence which flared in Earlsdon High Street - six miles from Coventry City's Ricoh Arena - was pre-arranged.
Witnesses reported seeing men on mobile phones shortly before trouble broke out, hours before Coventry's match with Leicester City.
Knives were seized by the police and one man suffered minor head injuries.
A police spokesman said CCTV footage of the incident, which happened at 1130 GMT, was also being studied.
Witnesses described "hordes" of men spreading out across the street and throwing bricks at each other.
One eyewitness, who did not want to be named, said: "We've never had anything like this before in this area.
"I saw a load of men, probably in their 50s, on phones and it was obvious they were planning something, then it all kicked off.
"The police moved in swiftly but we've got absolutely no idea why it happened here."
Another said: "One came up to us with blood on his knuckles and asked if we had a local cab number, so we told the police to go and get him."
Although Earlsdon, a pleasant residential suburb, is miles from Coventry's ground, it is within walking distance of the city's main railway station and would have once been used by fans travelling to the old Highfield Road ground.
Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hyde of West Midlands Police said: "This was a determined effort to cause violence and our response has been swift.
"It does emphasise the need for extra police resources on match days and in and around football grounds.
"It is very unusual for disorder to break out in the Earlsdon area, and all indications at the moment suggest that the violence was planned.
"While the majority of football fans are law abiding, police will deal robustly with the minority intent on causing violence and disorder."
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kicked off after Leicester v Norwich last week.
Do we delude ourselves in nthinking that because it doesn't happen in stadiums that there is no football violence in this country anymore ?
I'm not usually in teh Town Centre much before or after games so I won't see anything - do people who attend regularly see any bother ?
Tomorrow's Cup final will be a nightmare to Police.
