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A gang of hooligans who fought rival fans in a busy retail park as horrified families looked on escaped jail today. The violent bust-up unfolded at New Douglas Retail Park in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, between supporters of Hamilton Academical and Dundee. Two gangs of up to 30 'casuals' ran riot, battered each other and even spat at disgusted onlookers. Shaun Murray, 27, Liam Fullerton, 18, Daniel Weir, 21, Jamie Gilchrist, 29, all from Dundee, and Joseph Roeves, 19, from Hamilton, were on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court last month. Walking free: (left to right) Shaun Murray, Liam Fullerton, and Jamie Gilchrist must do community service They had denied fighting and causing fear and alarm on the day of a Scottish First Division match on December 3, 2011. A jury found them guilty but on Tuesday they walked free from court after Sheriff Ray Small ordered each of them to perform 250 hours of unpaid work. However he refused to hand down Football Banning Orders despite prosecutors as

Indonesian soccer player Pieter Rumaropen could face heavy punishment after punching a referee in the face during a top flight Super League match at the weekend. Rumaropen's Persiwa Wamena were tied 1-1 with Pelita Bandung Raya on Sunday when referee Muhaimin awarded a penalty to Pelita with eight minutes left on the clock. Video replays of the incident showed Rumaropen running up behind Muhaimin and landing a swinging left hook on the referee, who had to be admitted to a hospital due to excessive bleeding from his nose. Scroll down for video Tackle: The referee awarded a penalty to Pelita after this challenge Charge: Incensed by the penalty award, Rumaropen runs towards the referee Punch: Rumaropen lands a swinging left hook which catches the referee by surprise The match was held up for 15 minutes before a replacement official took over and gave Rumaropen a red card. 'The case has been forwarded to the disciplinary committee,' said the league's communic

Troy Deeney's double helped Watford to a comfortable win over struggling Blackburn as Gianfranco Zola's men closed to within four points of Hull in the race for automatic promotion. The striker scored his 17th and 18th goals of the campaign within the space of nine second-half minutes while Almen Abdi and Matthew Briggs added further goals as the Hornets recorded a first win in four attempts, and consigned Rovers - who had Leon Best sent-off in stoppage-time - to a fifth consecutive away league defeat. With two games to go, Steve Bruce's Tigers remain favourites for second place, but Watford's much superior goal difference means Hull will need to win at least one of their remaining fixtures to prevent a late charge from the Vicarage Road club, who have now mathematically secured at least a play-off spot. Job done: Matthew Briggs (right) nets Watford's fourth goal of the afternoon MATCH FACTS Watford: Almunia, Doyley, Cassetti, Ekstrand (Briggs 69), Pudil, Anya (

Police have arrested three men in dawn raids in connection with violence at an FA Cup semi-final between Millwall and Wigan. The men, aged 21, 22 and 27, were arrested at addresses in London by officers from Operation Arrowtip, which targets football-related crime, Scotland Yard said. So far 23 people have been arrested in relation to violence at the semi-final at London's Wembley Stadium on April 13, during which Millwall fans attacked police and fought among themselves inside and outside the ground. Scroll down for video Something to hide? Police make an arrest during an early morning raid after violence at Wembley Flashpoint: Police clash with fans during the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley A further 17 pictures have been released of people at the match who police want to speak to. Detective Chief Inspector Andy Barnes said: 'Large-scale violence and disorder at football matches is completely unacceptable. People attending matches expect to be able to do so in a safe and

Woking midfielder and Fulham Academy coach Kevin Betsy returns for his latest Footballers' Football Column in which he looks at the struggles of relegation. The former Wycombe, Bristol City, Oldham and Barnsley midfielder recounts the pressures from his personal experiences and takes a look at the pros and cons of young players playing in front of big crowds... This is the business end. Dreams are made, hearts broken and lives can be changed. The financial consequences of success and failure in football are all too real for the chairman and boards of directors. This filters down through the management and players, on to the unsung heroes like kitmen/women, admin staff etc and out to the supporters. A relegation battle is without doubt one of the most stressful situations I have been involved in. You meet supporters and look them in the eye and realise their desperation for you to survive. Your performance and that of the team can affect the lives of others. We have chosen this p

Mansfield chief executive Carolyn Radford returns for her latest Footballers' Football Column with a celebration special after the Stags' promotion back to the Football League. She lifts the lid on the club's promotion party and bonkers final day of the season. Radford also explains why winning the league is only part of the reason she is celebrating at the moment. Saturday was just a sensational day. Getting promoted as champions was our aim all season, but when we did it, it almost didn't seem real. It was like being in shock. It came down to the last game of the season, and it was between us and Kidderminster at the top, but their game got delayed half-way through due to the crowd trouble. So we had the conference chairman sitting behind us telling us everything that was going on. Kidderminster had already scored three or four goals at that point but we were only one nil up so it was really touch and go. We needed a win to win the title but if Wrexham had equalise

Jordan Rhodes gave Blackburn’s survival hopes a huge boost last night with a controversial late penalty. Millwall striker Rob Hulse scored an own goal to cancel out team-mate Karleigh Osborne’s early opener as both sides fought for their Championship lives. But the visitors were awarded a dubious spot kick in the 77th minute when Danny Shittu was adjudged to have tripped Grant Hanley, and Rhodes slotted home. Shocked: Danny Shittu couldn't believe he was sent off by referee Gavin Ward for this challenge (below) Cool under pressure: Jordan Rhodes' late winner lifted Blackburn away from the relegation zone MATCH FACTS Millwall: Forde, Dunne, Shittu, Beevers, Smith, Osborne, Henry, Feeney (Keogh, 77), Abdou, Hulse (Wright, 61), Easter (Batt, 62) Subs not used: M Taylor, Malone, Woolford, Saville Goals: Osbourne 14 Booked: Forde, Abdou, Shittu, Batt Sent off: Shittu 76 Blackburn: Sandomierski, Dann, Kane, G Hanley, Dunn (Orr, 90), Ms Olsson (King, 46), Williamson,