Sunday's second FA Cup semi-final between title holders Chelsea and Manchester City was always going to overshadow the first Wigan Athletic vs Millwall match - and that will still be the case, despite the violence at Wembley on Saturday.
Eleven Millwall fans were arrested and four police officers suffered injuries after Millwall fans fought each other in scenes now rarely seen at English grounds - and even more rarely at Wembley - as their team was beaten 2-0 by Wigan, who reached the FA Cup final for the first time in their 81-year history.
Shocking pictures of the violence were televised around the world as a minority of Millwall fans among the 30,000-plus at their end of the grounds turned their back on a well-fought match. The Premier League Wigan deserved their win, albeit against a well-organised, but ultimately outclassed Championship (second-tier) side.
Following statements made by the Football Association, the Metropolitan Police and Millwall FC on Saturday night, investigations have started to find the troublemakers and hone in on what sparked the fighting and marred one of the showpiece events of the English season.
An eyewitness sitting among the Millwall fans told The Daily Mail on Sunday that trouble began after a child was knocked to the ground by a drunken fan.
The eyewitness, a Millwall season ticket-holder sitting close to where the fighting started, told the newspaper: "This drunken guy came back to his seat and knocked a little boy over. The bloke refused to apologise to the child or his father and the exchange soon became very heated.
"Before you knew it two groups of mates had formed and punches were being thrown. There were children around and some of them got scared and upset and needed to be taken outside.
"After a while the fighting died down, but then it started again and was stop-start all the way through the second half.
"People were calling on the police to get involved, but it took them the best part of 30 minutes to intervene and by that time it was too late. Between 10-15 police eventually acted but they were chased out. The stewards were nowhere to be seen. Totally useless."
The violence could be seen clearly from the nearby press seats at Wembley with the reporters watching in disbelief as the fighting took hold with stewards and police nowhere to be seen.
Violent History
Millwall fans have a long history of violence and their old ground The Den was closed by the authorities in 1920, 1934 and 1950 because of crowd trouble. In 1985 Millwall fans rioted at Luton during an FA Cup quarter-final, still one of the worst single outbreaks in English football's long association with hooliganism.
Millwall has worked hard to change its image of a downtrodden working class outlaw club, but Saturday's violence is likely to undo a lot of that effort.
The club said in a statement that it would ban indefinitely any fans found guilty of being involved in Saturday's mayhem, and with the police and FA working in tandem, what happened at Wembley is unlikely to be repeated elsewhere, simply because most supporters of the same club don't tend to fight each other.
Sunday's semi-final at least gives Wembley - and English football - an immediate opportunity to shift the focus to where it matters most: on the pitch with either title holders Chelsea or Premier League champions Manchester City set to return to the venue to face Wigan in the final on 11 May.
Stoke City vs Manchester United April 14, 2013
Of course, given that they still boast a 12 point lead at the top of the table, Manchester United should comfortably cruise to the title. But a slight shadow of doubt has been cast over Old Trafford after they were beaten by City on Monday night, and a win away at Stoke would be perfect to settle any lingering nerves.
Stoke have plummeted to 15th on the back of a six game winless run in which they've only picked up a solitary point. Three points above the drop zone, a failure to find some form quickly could have disastrous consequences for Tony Pulis' side, not least with the team just inside the bottom three, Wigan, having a couple of games in hand on the Potters by the end of the weekend.
Pulis has few excuses for his team's lack of form, as he only has a couple of doubts for this game. Winger Matthew Etherington has been struggling with a back injury, while midfielder Marc Wilson was withdrawn against Aston Villa with a hamstring problem.
As for United, Ashley Young is doubt after sustaining an ankle injury in the derby, while defenders Chris Smalling, Jonny Evans and Nemanja Vidic could also miss out after they were omitted with injury problems. Paul Scholes could be sidelined with a continuation of his knee issue, while Darren Fletcher is definitely out again.
Stoke City injuries and suspensions
Out: None In doubt: Matthew Etherington (back), Marc Wilson (hamstring)
Manchester United injuries and suspensions
Out: Darren Fletcher (illness) In doubt: Ashley Young (ankle), Chris Smalling (knock), Jonny Evans (hamstring), Nemanja Vidic (back), Paul Scholes (knee)
Match Date\Time: Sunday, 2:05 p.m. local, 9:05 a.m. ET
Venue: Britannia Stadium, Stoke, England
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