This afternoon police have confirmed that a teenager from Nottingham was that upset with the referee Cuneyt Cakir’s decision to send off Luis Nani in last night’s Champions League match against Real Madrid that he called 999 to report the ‘crime’.
The 18-year-old Manchester United fan was watching the game vs Real Madrid at his house in Notts when he called the emergency services to report. He has come out this afternoon and apologised for the call.
Control Room Chief Inspector Ted Antill said:
“While this recent example may be amusing, it illustrates the sort of insincere calls we have to deal with on a daily basis in the Control Room.
“They waste our time and they direct us away from genuine victims of crime, particularly if we dispatch officers out to something that turns out to be a bogus report.
“I would ask people to think before picking up the phone for emergency services. I would also advise parents to ensure your children are aware that prank calls and the reporting of made-up crimes is a crime in itself.
“There may be people out there in real trouble who need our help and they have to wait because we are tied up with calls like this one, reporting a referee from the television.
“It’s no joke. In this case, the man realised his bad judgement and apologised and we decided not to pursue it further. But we can and we do prosecute people for wasting police time and making false reports.”
One reply on “Teenager calls 999 to report Manchester United's red card vs Real Madrid”
Poor fellow could not have taken it when the red card incident happened and might have called the line for help. But, congrats to the police team for the way they handled the situation. Great work and keep it up…