Rob Harris · @RobHarris
28th Jun 2014 from TwitLonger
Details from police on England fan who had part of ear bitten off at #ENG-#URU
Chief Supt Rachel Barber, who acted as Silver Commander during the UK police deployment at the World Cup:
"We were made aware during the England vs Uruguay match in Sao Paulo that an incident had taken place which resulted in an England fan having a portion of his ear bitten off by another England fan.
"In the immediate aftermath, we managed to make contact with the victim and offered advice and support. The day after the attack, the victim chose to make a formal complaint to the local police, and they opened an investigation.
"During the course of our pursuit of the assailant, we located and interviewed several witnesses. They were very helpful in giving their version of events, but, unfortunately they were unable to give us a name for the alleged attacker.
"Our team made a careful inspection of the England fans at the stadium in Belo Horizonte, in case the assailant travelled to England's final match, but it appears he did not travel to that game.
"We appreciate that there is significant interest in this case, but, at present, we want to restrict our comment to saying that we are continuing to work with the victim to offer support and are continuing our own investigations on home soil through the UK Football Policing Unit.
"Efforts are ongoing to identify the suspect and bring him to justice either in the UK or, if possible, back in Brazil where the offence occurred."