A Recent Example of Football Hooliganism
The English Disease is Still Plain to See at Some Football Matches
© Kim Ford
Sep 9, 2009
Although English football matches are much safer nowadays than they were between the late 1960s and the mid 1980s, it is clear from the recent clash between West Ham and Millwall fans that football hooligans and dangerous team rivalries still exist.
Immediately after the Carling Cup tie between the two London teams on Tuesday 25 August 2009 the British newspapers reported scenes of violence in and around Upton Park on their websites.
Newspaper Reports on the West Ham Millwall Clash
News reports stated that missiles were thrown and fights broke out between spectators inside the ground along with three pitch invasions. The throwing of missiles and going onto the playing area were both made illegal with the introduction of the Football (Offences) Act in 1991.
There were also reports of clashes between fans at the Upton Park tube station before the game and general mass rioting in the area. Among the chaos a 44-year-old man was stabbed in the chest and taken to hospital.
It was reported that about 200 riot police and 20 mounted officers attended the scene.
A Sports Reporters Reaction to the Trouble
The Mirror’s football blog the following day featured a reaction of the nights’ events from reporter Darren Lewis who was covering the match. He said that although the violence was the worst he had ever seen in his 15 years of reporting on the sport, he would not agree that the bad old days were making a come back.
On the scenes he witnessed Mr Lewis said: “Grown men, masquerading as pillars of the community by day, ripped off their masks and ripped into the police like animals last night. Bricks, bottles, seats, coins, anything that could be used as a weapon was against the enemy - be they from either club, the stewards or the police.”
The FA to Investigate the West Ham V Millwall Clash
The Football Association is now holding an investigation into the events that lead to such violent scenes on the streets of London. Their spokesperson told the BBC “We absolutely condemn all of the disorder that has occurred at Upton Park. We will be working with all parties, the police and clubs, to establish the facts surrounding these events.”
In response to the FA’s investigation to the trouble, a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police Federation said: “Simply banning individuals from football grounds would not, in our opinion, sufficiently re-inforce the message that violence of the type seen at Upton Park will not be tolerated. Much better, we believe, would be to force the clubs to play matches behind closed gates or impose massive points deductions.”
Minister for Sport Gerry Sutcliffe said: "The scenes were a disgrace to football. We have made great progress in the past 20 years in tackling football hooliganism in this country and will not tolerate any return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s when it plagued the game.”
 |
