A 33-year-old from Chessington has been arrested after "biting and partially tearing off" a man's ear in Epsom after the Euro 2020 final on Sunday (July 11).
Police said the horrific incident happened in the aftermath of the final, which was linked to a number of violent incidents in Greater London on Sunday and saw England lose to Italy.
Patrols announced prior to the game in Epsom in response to previous anti-social behaviour of fans saw the incident happening on Epsom High Street around 11.30pm on Sunday.
As a statement from Surrey Police described:
"The suspect has then seriously assaulted the victim, biting his ear and partially tearing it off. The victim was taken to hospital with potentially life-changing injuries."
Police added that the suspect was described as a "white man of a medium build with brown hair".
Were you in #Epsom Town Centre on Sunday night? https://t.co/YCJ5gLi0zJ
— Epsom and Ewell Beat (Surrey Police) (@EpsomEwellBeat) July 13, 2021
If you have any info please DM us quoting ref PR/45210073285 . If you do not wish to leave your name, please call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. pic.twitter.com/KcuhECJqVx
A 33 year-old man from Chessington was arrested by police on suspicion of grievous bodily harm with intent.
He has since been released on conditional bail whilst enquiries continue.
Detective Constable Elliott Abdo said: "Due to the fact this happened following the football match, we expect that there will be witnesses to this assault who are yet to come forward.
"Many witnesses were standing in sheltered areas of the high street to avoid the rain, so we are appealing to these people who witnessed the assault to get in touch.
"We are also appealing to people in cars including taxi drivers who may have any dashcam footage from the area around that time to contact us."
Anyone who witnessed the assault or has information that could help with the investigation is asked to contact police on 101 or via their website and quote PR/ 45210073285, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
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