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This is the moment Everton fans claim they were “crushed” against the walls of Liverpool FC’s Anfield stadium in pre-match queues for the sides’ Merseyside derby.

Footage obtained by the ECHO shows hundreds of fans in Anfield Road waiting for police searches and ticket checks.

One fan described scenes of “pandemonium” as ticket-holders fought to free themselves from the crush, which fans said had trapped women and children.

But police insisted they had warned fans well in advance that they should leave extra time for checks before the match.

Video taken outside the ground (via David The Toffee)

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The force’s match commander said less than half of the 2,700 Everton fans attending the game were in the stadium by 7.45pm.

A 13-year-old boy was injured in the incident and many supporters complained of missing the first 20 minutes of the game on Tuesday night.

A police statement said the youngster received treatment for bruising in the Anfield Road first aid room and went on to watch the game.

Mounted police officers plan to contact the boy's father to investigate further.

Eight men were arrested in relation to incidents surrounding the match, and two were charged; one with criminal damage and another with a racially aggravated public order offence.

Everton fan Rebecca Martin, 41, said there were only a handful of turnstiles open for the away seating at the Anfield Road end, causing bottlenecks before kick-off.

She said: “The queues were massive, but more and more people were arriving and the police were doing nothing to hold them back.

“New arrivals started pouring in from the sides, pushing and pushing people against the wall to the left. There was nowhere for them to go, and the police were doing nothing.

“It was chaos. People were getting angry and frightened. It had the potential to turn nasty; we were certainly getting physically crushed.

“The younger ones were particularly scared. It seemed like there were more and more people coming at us and nowhere to get out."

Another fan, Kevin Morgan, 52, told the ECHO his teenage son was stepped on by a police horse 15 minutes before the derby began.

He said: “The police and stewards were pushing us back into a queue for the entrance, and a horse came in sideways. My little lad, Bradley, was squashed up into me, and the horse stood on his foot. The weight of that horse stood on my son. The skin came off his toes, and he’s all bruised. He couldn’t walk. I had to hold my arms tight around his chest to keep hold of him. If I had let go for a second, he’d have been scooped away in the rush.

“I’m a 52-year-old man and I was frightened. My son was only going to watch a game of football, and that happened. It shouldn’t have happened and I’m fuming.”

Supporter Mark O’Malley said the melee was “unbelievable”.

He added: “Normally at Anfield you have stewards and ushers but last night we couldn’t see them for the crush, and only four turnstiles were open.

“It was frightening, just crush after crush.”

He added: “It was pandemonium. There were women and children caught in there, they were trying to squeeze through but it was pushing other people out and into the wall.”

Steve Jones, 50, a season ticket holder at Goodison Park for nearly 30 years, said he had not experienced a pre-match crush like it since the 1970s.

He said: “The last time there were scenes like that must have been at Aston Villa in 1978. It was unbelievable.”

Match commander Chief Superintendent Carl Krueger said of the incident: “At 7.45pm, less than half the 2,700 fans in the away section of the ground had entered the stadium.

“This inevitably meant that a number of supporters who arrived close to the kick off time got to their seats after the match had started.

“Everyone was in the stadium by 8.15pm and I would like to thank people for their patience and understanding.”

He added that the police were continuing an investigation into reports that coins or other missiles were thrown at Liverpool star Luis Suárez.

Mr Krueger added: “Whilst we did see a very small number of people arrested, the overwhelming majority of Liverpool and Everton fans who went to the game were well behaved and I'd like to thank them for their assistance during the policing operation.

"I'd also like to thank the fans who got to the stadium well before the match started.

“We spoke extensively to the media ahead of the game to appeal to supporters to get there as early as possible because of the club putting a stricter than usual searching policy in place to identify anyone carrying flares or other forms of pyrotechnics.”

A Liverpool FC Spokesman said: “As with every match at Anfield, we have procedures in place to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all fans attending the game.

“We always advise that fans arrive at the stadium in good time before kick-off to avoid any delays or congestion in following these important safety procedures.”

A statement released on the official Everton website this afternoon said: "We are aware of a significant number of complaints regarding queue management from supporters waiting to enter Anfield at last night's derby match.

"The Club will make contact with Liverpool Football Club to raise these matters."

The following arrests were made:

Paul Howells, 27, of Wellbrow Road, Walton, was arrested inside the ground for a racially aggravated public order offence and subsequently charged. Howells was bailed to appear before magistrates on February 20;

Colin Dobie, 30, of Adlington Street, Liverpool city centre, was arrested outside the ground on suspicion of criminal damage. He was later charged and bailed to appear before magistrates on Thursday;

A 29-year-old man from Wirral arrested outside the ground for breach of the peace;

A 36-year-old man was arrested outside the ground on suspicion of ticket touting and last night remained in police custody;

A 23-year-old man from Liverpool was arrested inside the ground after items were thrown at another fan. He was ejected from the ground and spoken to by officers on suspicion of disorder;

Men aged 19 and 25 were arrested inside the ground for being drunk and disorderly. He was spoken to by officers and issued with a on-the-spot fine;

A 22-year-old man from Knowsley was arrested outside the ground for breach of the peace.

Merseyside derby game reaction:

Here is James Pearce's LFC verdict and click for Greg O'Keeffe's EFC match report.

Click here to re-read our live blog from yesterday with build-up throughout the day and commentary from the match.

And we've got in-depth analysis from Dave Prentice here and Neil Jones here.

In pictures: 222nd Merseyside derby at Anfield