I've been alerted to the fact that a large number of Albion fans, possibly prompted by a thread on NSC, reported West Ham fans to the FA and the 'Kick it Out' campaign. Additionally there may be the intention to do likewise for each game a group of opposing fans chants "does your boyfriend know you're here" and the like.
A few things about this...
- Both the FA and 'Kick it Out' have a duty to fully investigate each and every reported incident, which means...
- A number of Albion officials have to spend a large amount of time investigating and reporting back.
- Any report made about opposing fans at the Amex could result in action against the Albion, not the opposing club, as the Albion are in charge of crowd control at the Amex.
- When reports involve hundreds, if not thousands of fans singing there is very little chance of any action being possible.
So, I urge people to think long and hard about pursuing this campaign as...
a) there is slim chance of any meaningful action, yet
b) the Albion could expend significant manpower being duty bound to investigate and report back on each incident reported
This is not to say, of course, that any serious incidents that occur should not be reported - they absolutely should.
For anyone wondering, the club have not put me up to making this post, but I have told them I am making it having heard about the number of hours that club staff have effectively wasted this week. That time could be better spent serving the Albion support in many ways.
A few things about this...
- Both the FA and 'Kick it Out' have a duty to fully investigate each and every reported incident, which means...
- A number of Albion officials have to spend a large amount of time investigating and reporting back.
- Any report made about opposing fans at the Amex could result in action against the Albion, not the opposing club, as the Albion are in charge of crowd control at the Amex.
- When reports involve hundreds, if not thousands of fans singing there is very little chance of any action being possible.
So, I urge people to think long and hard about pursuing this campaign as...
a) there is slim chance of any meaningful action, yet
b) the Albion could expend significant manpower being duty bound to investigate and report back on each incident reported
This is not to say, of course, that any serious incidents that occur should not be reported - they absolutely should.
For anyone wondering, the club have not put me up to making this post, but I have told them I am making it having heard about the number of hours that club staff have effectively wasted this week. That time could be better spent serving the Albion support in many ways.