The city of Manchester today hastily abandoned all plans to put up big screens around the city for next week's all-English Champions League final after a "baying mob" of Scottish football thugs last night went on the rampage, attacking police officers and civilians.

Police released video footage of the attacks this morning, showing marauding mobs of Rangers fans running through the streets and officers being pelted with bottles and chased. In one dramatic sequence, a mob hunts down an officer and pounces on him.

The scenes were described as a "disgrace" by Gordon Brown, who indicated that only supporters with tickets for a match should travel to a city hosting the event in future.

After initially issuing a statement claiming that the violence had been caused only by a tiny minority of fans, Martin Bain, the Rangers chief executive, later admitted the footage looked "dreadful," but claimed that the violence had been perpetrated by supporters who "don’t normally attach themselves" to the club.

Richard Leese, the Manchester city council leader, said that the city would not mark European football's showpiece game next Wednesday with big screen showings, as planned, because it would be unfair on businesses and residents after what they had endured last night.

In an evening of violence, which police said had left them "sickened and disappointed", one fan of the club's Russian opponents in last night's UEFA Cup Final, Zenit St Petersburg, was stabbed before the kick-off outside the City of Manchester Stadium, and was rushed to hospital. He was said to be in a stable condition today.

Scores of Rangers fans hurled bottles at technical staff in the city's central Piccadilly area, who were trying to repair a fault with a big screen located there 15 minutes before kick-off. As a result of the attacks, staff were swiftly withdrawn for their own safety.

After attempts to repair the fault failed, the council said that it laid on free transport for 11,000 fans to be moved to the Velodrome, near the stadium, where an alternative screen had been put up, but some fans refused to go, instead attacking police officers.

Violence also took place outside the stadium after Rangers' 2-0 defeat, including more attacks on police. A total of 52 assaults were recorded in Manchester last night, many directed against officers, and 42 fans — all believed to be supporters of Rangers — were arrested. Fifteen police officers and a police dog were treated for injuries.

One senior officer was hit so hard that his electronic earpiece was left embedded in his head and had to be removed by doctors.

Mr Leese said that more than 100,000 Rangers fans had descended on the city for the final, with about 13,000 of them having had tickets for the game. The rest tried to take advantage of the council putting up big screens in different locations around the city.

The vast majority behaved well, he said, but added: "A small number of Rangers fans have let themselves down and they’ve let their city down.

Explore UK News

• Crime News

• Education News

• Health News

• Science News

• Scotland News

Times Recommends

• Time-worn Freddie gives up Test matches
• Brighton company 'involved in cyber attack'
• The art of survival: it’s all in the mind