Eight football related arrests during afternoon of MK Dons visit to Northampton Town

Eight arrests were made on Saturday as Dons took on Northampton at Sixfields Stadium

The Dons headed to the nearby Cobblers in a hotly contested League One encounter, but trouble brewed before the game in Northampton town centre.

Northamptonshire Police made some of the arrests prior to the 3pm kick-off, with seven of those arrested having travelled in support of the Dons, with one Northampton fan also among those caught by cops.

Four arrests were for public order offences, one for criminal damage, one for pitch encroachment, one for obstructing the police and one for affray.

Video footage has emerged of some of the trouble, with one Dons fan appearing to fall to the floor after an altercation with police.

Northamptonshire Police superintendent Chris Hillery, the head of local policing, said: “We had an extensive policing operation in place on Saturday ahead of Northampton Town’s match against MK Dons.

“We know local rivalries can run high and had also received information that so-called ‘supporters’ of each team were planning to meet in the town centre ahead of the match in order to commit violence.

“Officers were deployed to the area and were able to keep the two opposing groups apart in a bid to prevent disorder between them, dispersing them away from the town centre."

Dons lost the local fixture 2-1, in what was Robbie Neilson's last game as manager.