Snow wrote:Personally I think its a long overdue poetic justice....now before you all jump and yell, hear me out.
In the 80's English teams were banned from competing in European compititions due to crowd problems (which incidentally are still discussed anytime the National team leave the UK!) The Italian and Spanish fans are as bad as the hooligans that spoilt our game in the 80's and yet they were no bans for any of their teams in any competitions.
So I say its about time that the whole world looked at football (I won't insult "the beautiful game" by calling it soccer - until I get to Canada of course ) and the hooligans that make up a small minority of the real fan bases for these clubs. Its the real fans that travel to the games that are getting the hard time here, those that carry homemade devices aren't football fans, anymore than the terrorists that we all condemn so readily.
They are there to start trouble, not watch a game, and lets make no bones about it thats what it is... A GAME, you can go down to most football pitches on a Sunday morning here and watch pub teams play, you don't see the finesse or flair but you will see commitment and honest football (most times ) No violence, no fighting before, after or during the game. The refs, don't get assaulted and forced to retire, players aren't shot because they scored an own goal (If that was the case I should have been riddled after one of the last games I played!!) and supporters aren't assaulted because their shirt is a different colour to someone else's.
End of rant, it's a sad fact that the policeman lost his life and I grieve for his family, but the Italians have gotten away with it far too long for it to become a new problem, they should have dealt with it back in the 80's like we had to.
Totally agree with your there, for at least 20 years its always been the British fans (whom ever they are supporting be it Liverpool or an of the national teams England, Scotland, Ireland or Wales) that were called trouble makers and hooligans. But most fans who go abroad for games know that the Spanish and Italian fans are just as bad but never got the same treatment as the British fans. The Italian football teams and fans should have the same treatment as the British football clubs have had (ie banned from playing games abroad and certain fans unable to attend any game). We had to take tough measures against hooligans, rightly so, and Italy will have to do the same.
I feel sorry for the policeman's family because he was only doing his job, but like Snow said they should have dealt with a lot of the Europeans hooligans back in the 80's and not just scape goated the British fans.
Don't people have real problems to deal instead of causing trouble because of supporting this or that football club and watching those millionaires running around a field while we earn nothing by watching them...
Luís wrote:watching those millionaires running around a field while we earn nothing by watching them...
Not only that but we end up paying overinflated prices to watch primadona's play and there wages could feed a small country for years! (See Beckham's move to LA for details)
We spit on those who choose to pose... we'll thrash with all the rest
the strange thing about getting the bombs into the stadiums, dont know if it was stated in my first post but they threw tear-gas onto the pitch and all the players had to leave the pitch.
Like when I went to the last Inter v. Juventus match, i was searched from head to toe, including my wallet. and then while i was walking up the ramps to the top tiers of the grounds i could see the Juve fans arriving, they were just shown what way to go, no checkpoints or anything, and many of them were carring bottles
) and the hooligans that make up a small minority of the real fan bases for these clubs. Its the real fans that travel to the games that are getting the hard time here, those that carry homemade devices aren't football fans, anymore than the terrorists that we all condemn so readily.
