Met Police wanted to ban Albion fans?

[El Turi]

So, trouble only kicks off because the police incite and goad it? BULLSHIT.

If you attend a game, behave yourself and are polite have you noticed that you never seem to encounter any problems at all, amazing that isn't it. I do not like being herded about after a game at Selhurst but the police are doing it to reduce problems and protect good fans that just want to get away and get home without pretending to be some stupid Danny Dyer wannabe.

Of course not but the met police really don't help things a lot of the time. At the game in December it was obvious that a lot of the police officers had serious attitudes and took pleasure in treating all of our fans like scum. I have found this on a lot of games in London for many years so it does seem to be a met police issue.

 

[yxee]

The Met are being fiancially strapped by the government, if they had got away with banning Albion fans it would saved them a lump of money. Sadly there are a bunch of absolute Googles out there who Bing it up for the rest of us. Don't blame the police or the clubs, blame the pathetic tuurds who can't control themselves over a game of football.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Of course not but the met police really don't help things a lot of the time. At the game in December it was obvious that a lot of the police officers had serious attitudes and took pleasure in treating all of our fans like scum. I have found this on a lot of games in London for many years so it does seem to be a met police issue.

I spoke with a police officer friend years ago and he offered the idea that as the majority of football policing is voluntary overtime a certain type of officer is attracted. Just ask yourself what sort of person volunteers to spend their weekend dealing with confrontation and excitable crowds.

 

[soistes]

So, trouble only kicks off because the police incite and goad it? BULLSHIT.

If you attend a game, behave yourself and are polite have you noticed that you never seem to encounter any problems at all, amazing that isn't it. I do not like being herded about after a game at Selhurst but the police are doing it to reduce problems and protect good fans that just want to get away and get home without pretending to be some stupid Danny Dyer wannabe.

This -- at the last away match at Selhurst, I didn't like being kettled after the match, but equally I didn't like (and was embarrassed by, frankly) watching some of my fellow Albion "fans" ripping out seats, damaging toilets, vandalising large numbers of cars, persistently rushing the police line and crushing other fans at the front of the crowd waiting to be let out to walk to the station, and abusing locals who weren't obviously Palace fans but were just unfortunate enough to live on the route between the ground and station. Or maybe I was hallucinating and imagined it all? I hold no particular brief for the Met, who have got plenty to be ashamed of in their recent history, but equally I can understand their wish to prevent this being repeated at a playoff match at which quite a lot more is at stake for both teams and which therefore has the potential for a bit more trouble.

 

[amexee]

I think the met have a serious problem. It may well be a minority who are actively out of order but the rest seem to turn a blind eye to them and hence the rogues seem to thrive.

If I was with a group of 50 plus people at a football match or any other gathering, facing another group and turned to my mate and called out loudly "Hit them", I would expect any police nearby to nick me. When a policeman did that outside Selhurst within earshot of at least 20 other police, guess what happened.

Correct, f' all

 

[SeagullSongs]

"We're not all criminals,
we're not all criminals,
we're not all criminals,
we're not all criminals."

"Thatcherism's still alive!
Thatcherism's still alive,
Thatcherism, Thatcherism,
Thatcherism's still alive!
Thatcherism's still alive."

 

[Brighton Breezy]

The fact they were even considering asking for an away fan ban is an absolute joke.

One FOI request submitted to Sussex Police and the MET...

 

[Wilko]

The fact they were even considering asking for an away fan ban is an absolute joke.

.

Probably just a threat in an attempt to get people to behave. I wish people would stop pushing the blame, if the wannabe hoolies stopped behaving like utter twats then there would not be an issue.

I have put together a simple fomula
Behave- the police will leave you alone and be polite
Act like a ****- Expect to be approached, held back, searched and treated like shit.

 

[RupertsFlan]

The met police are the ones who usually cause a lot of the trouble with their over the top heavy handed policing techniques.

I do sympathise with this. At West Ham away last season I asked a senior officer how long we would have to put up with the spitting and the throwing of bottles along with the usual, but rather more graphic take, on the gay chanting.

He told me that I should' p**s off back to that Fag*ots town with the rest of the poo*ft*s if I didnt like it'.

Tremendous work from Londons finest.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

The clubs would have rejected this instantly and it makes the whole ID thing look MUCH better if they actually considered this.

Also to show the difference between the Met and Sussex Police, look how Sussex treated the Palace fans on March 17th, only a few arrests, not heavy handed either. Then you look at how the Met treated us, were heavy handed at the first sight of trouble and left us outside for 45 minutes.

Definitely a Met Police thing, very over the top.

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Probably just a threat in an attempt to get people to behave. I wish people would stop pushing the blame, if the wannabe hoolies stopped behaving like utter twats then there would not be an issue.

I have put together a simple fomula
Behave- the police will leave you alone and be polite
Act like a ****- Expect to be approached, held back, searched and treated like shit.

You see, while I agree in general, I take issue with a group of around 2,000 people being treated as one body and judged by the actions of a minority.

I will got to Selhurst, behave and act responsibly. I will also be held back, treated like shit and asked to carry ID to be produced at any stage of my journey to and from the ground.

Surely Section 60 legislation can deal with the minority without having to resort to these steps. Not that I agree with anti terrorism laws being used to stop and search football fans but there you go...

 

[The Large One]

Probably just a threat in an attempt to get people to behave.

Really? But not allowing them to go at all? Babies and bathwater spring to mind here. And David Evans.

I wish people would stop pushing the blame, if the wannabe hoolies stopped behaving like utter twats then there would not be an issue.

I have put together a simple fomula
Behave- the police will leave you alone and be polite
Act like a ****- Expect to be approached, held back, searched and treated like shit.

Again - really? 99.9% of people behave perfectly well, so why are 100% of people being treated as though they don't?

What is it about the 0.1% that the Met can't handle in the way that Sussex Police can?

 

[Brighton Breezy]

Really? But not allowing them to go at all? Babies and bathwater spring to mind here. And David Evans.



Again - really? 99.9% of people behave perfectly well, so why are 100% of people being treated as though they don't?

What is it about the 0.1% that the Met can't handle in the way that Sussex Police can?

Indeed. At The Amex the five arrests - two of which were made on public transport - represented a MASSIVE 0.017% of the 28,499 crowd.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

What is it about the 0.1% that the Met can't handle in the way that Sussex Police can?

The Met take a hardline approach on anything unlike Sussex ?

Hardline policing causes more problems, i mean its acceptable in riot situations but when your dealing with 1 or 2 troublemakers is it really needed ?

 

[Wilko]

Really? But not allowing them to go at all? Babies and bathwater spring to mind here. And David Evans.



Again - really? 99.9% of people behave perfectly well, so why are 100% of people being treated as though they don't?

What is it about the 0.1% that the Met can't handle in the way that Sussex Police can?

What comes first though? Fans being idiots so the police react or police inciting trouble from the fans?

 

[BattFink]

... He told me that I should' p**s off back to that Fag*ots town with the rest of the poo*ft*s if I didnt like it'.

I hope you reported him afterwards.

I've always had a real problem with the way the Met police handle large events.. For my sins back in 2004 I worked on the Labour party conference & dealt with a lot of Met PSU officers...

The thing that always bugged me back then were officers deliberately covering/removing identity markers & the general attitude of the officers involved, there were a lot of them mainly there to have a ruck

For what it's worth though, I went to Selhurst Park back in December and quite frankly I was ashamed of some of the behavior of some of our fans, I've got no problems with being loud, giving opposition fans some stick.. but I do get annoyed when I see seats being ripped out, being pushed into the police "wall" & cars with wing mirrors hanging off etc... just because they are on the way back to the station.

However will agree that the Met handled the whole day really poorly

 

[Buzzer]

On this basis then anyone wanting to protest for or against EDL marching through this town should register with the police. The police should also have the right to limit the number of protesters and those allowed will need to pass a CRB check and carry ID with them and a letter if authorisation from the police.

Anyone found protesting, even peacefully, without a valid document or the requisite ID will be deemed a criminal.

Someone please explain the substantive difference between the scenario I've just described and the Palace game.

 

[HawkTheSeagull]

Just a question in general, if you look under 25 - you get asked for ID in shops if your buying alcohol.

Since people are saying in this case that if you get asked for ID, it apparently instantly makes you a criminal - are you then basically a criminal for wanting to buy alcohol in the shop despite being old enough, if you get asked for some ID ?

 

[Triggaaar]

if the wannabe hoolies stopped behaving like utter twats then there would not be an issue.

But the wannabe hoolies won't stop behaving like twats, because they are twats and that's their default behaviour. It's not my fault that they are twats. The police should video what happens (obviously they do a bit) and arrest those causing damage and prosecute them properly, so that they're removed from these games. If they'd videoed the walk from the station to Sellhurst in December they could've removed a few of our more stupid fans there and then.

But as above, some of the police that want to be involved in these games aren't that interested in keeping the peace, they just want us to respect their authoritah!

Behave- the police will leave you alone and be polite

If only that were true. While true for most of our lives, it's not always true at football games.

 

[Pinkie Brown]

I well remember the Shoreham protests against the veal trucks some 20-odd years ago. Sussex police were great but when a few nutters turned up and smashed a couple of windows the mets turned up in large numbers, full riot gear and proceeded to baton charge everyone, women, elderly and children alike. This continued for the next few nights, even after the rent-a-mob had buggered off somewhere else. Sussex police would mingle and were firm but fair, Mets would line up with shields dressed up like robocop wannabees, one tic away from a full charge. I've always been wary of the mets since then, there was no justification for that heavy-handed approach.

I heard from more than one local copper at the time, Sussex Police were seriously pissed off with the Met & their behaviour during that era.