Birmingham fans attack Gem of Norwich after Carrow Road loss

The incident happened at Gem of Norwich, a Turkish restaurant opposite the train station, at around 5.30pm as supporters headed home on Saturday.

According to James Grundy, Gem's manager, four buses full of Birmingham fans pulled up at the traffic lights on the Thorpe Road junction and proceeded to gesture rude things at Canaries supporters from their seats.

The Gem of Norwich was subjected to a vicious attack by Birmingham FC fans following their defeat on Saturday (Image: Newsquest)

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He said while rivalry between teams is not uncommon, the attack took staff completely by surprise. 

"They suddenly rushed over after getting off the bus and were dragging people around, hitting them, smashing up the bar and people's glasses," he said.

"I've worked at Gem since it opened in 2019 and we've never had any problem like this before."

Mr Grundy, who has been in the service industry for more than 10 years and worked in a number of "top" London establishments, said the onslaught was "shocking". 

Around 2,000 Birmingham fans (background, left) saw their team lose 2-0 to Norwich at Carrow Road (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images)

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"It was very busy at the time," he said.

"There were children around and it completely ruined the evening, a lot of people were very scared."

One diner, who was wearing an NCFC tie, was reportedly dragged outside and punched repeatedly, leaving him with bruises around his eyes.

Owner Camal Alby was injured in the attack (Image: Newsquest)

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It was also reported that the owner, Cemal Alby, injured his arm in an attempt to stop marauding fans from getting inside. 

Staff at Gem were able to resume business as normal after the flashpoint had died down.

Birmingham City FC has been approached for comment.

Only once the assailants had left shortly after were the police called, who turned up "within minutes". 

A Norfolk police spokeswoman said: "Officers attended a public order incident in Thorpe Road, Norwich, at around 6pm on Saturday, September 29.

"During the incident, one man sustained a slight injury to his face."

Inquiries are continuing and anyone who witnessed the incident or has any relevant footage is asked to contact Sgt Darren Harper at Norfolk Police on 101 or via email at Darren.harper@norfolk.police.uk, quoting incident number 353.