[Albion] Saturday - bad vibes in the family area

[Werther]

Hi all - first time poster here

I traveled over from Worthing for the match on Saturday with a group of friends/family. There were 11 of us in total. We try to get together for the Brighton-Newcastle match each year. Something that started when both teams were in the Championship. Our group was mainly Brighton fans, 3 x Newcastle fans (including myself) plus a couple of neutrals. As a large group with 4 kids, we booked group tickets in the family section (E1H)

It started out as a great day - sun was shining and there was a brilliant atmosphere in and around the ground after the Cardiff result.

Unfortunately, things took a bit of a nasty turn. I don't know what the trigger was - the few Newcastle fans in our group were certainly not vocal. However, a guy in a neighbouring seat overheard a discussion and twigged that a few of our group were Newcastle supporters. From that point on he completely lost it. Started shouting that we were "not eff'ing welcome", should not be there and should get out. We tried to explain that we were just a group of friends there to watch the match together with our kids, but he wouldn't let it go. He continued through the rest of the first half shouting that he had paid good money for his seats and we had "completely ruined his day out"

During half-time it seems there was some plotting because as the game resumed, he had swapped seats with another guy. They seemed to be together - I think they were related - not sure. Anyway this guy had been brought in to emphasise exactly how unwelcome we were. He spent the 2nd half screaming anti-Newcastle chants in our ears. "Go on Brighton, kill them !" that kind of thing. We managed to ignore most of it - but it became a pretty unpleasant atmosphere

It was my daughter's first time at a match, and she really enjoyed it initially. But having having felt the animosity and hearing the abuse hurled by this guy for the whole of the 2nd half, she's really not keen to return. I have to say everyone else we met on the day was great - but our encounter with this guy and his mates / family really soured the experience.

The point of my post is to see if this guy was right ? I always think of the family section as more of a laid-back area - where it would be OK for a mixed group of fans to watch the match together. I could understand such a reaction in one of the other stands - especially at this stage of the season with tensions mounting. But in the family stand with kids … it seemed a bit of an OTT reaction ? But perhaps I'm wrong ? Would be interested to hear other views

PS - really pleased for Brighton. The draw was a fair result after the 2nd half-revival and (fingers-crossed) that point will see the club safe in the PL.

 

[Wozza]

Sorry to hear this - sounds like you were around some idiots going OTT - but... E1H is a designated home area, not a mixed zone. As such, your party should have been more discrete imo.

 

[dazzer6666]

Shame you had an unpleasant experience, but if you sit in a home-designated area I don't think you're going to get a lot of sympathy to be honest. Would have been a lot worse at some other grounds. Incidentally I took a Newcastle-supporting mate with me on Saturday - he did absolutely nothing to indicate that though.

 

[Icy Gull]

And there lies the difference between rugby and football fans. It should be possible to mix in family areas and have a bit of banter but it’s not. Given the importance of the game it shouldn’t really have been that much of a surprise though.

 

[essbee1]

Really sorry to hear this. I'm ashamed of two of our fans if this is the way they behaved. Against all teams it had to be
Newcastle - possibly the club with the best-natured fans in the divisions.

 

[Werther]

Thanks for the reply. Honestly don't know how we could have been more discrete. No hats, scarves, singing - just trying to watch the game.

 

[banjo]

Still a shame though. Especially in front of kids. A quite word would of been enough.

 

[Marshy]

You just got a bit unlucky I think which is a shame.

I have no problem with having the odd away fan around me as long as they don't jump around like an idiot if there team scores.

 

[BBassic]

What a tool. Shame he ruined your day.

 

[DavidRyder]

You were obviously there to spend a couple of hours with friends, not to cause trouble. Ok, you were in the home end, and by all accounts you were low key (and I've gone into a home end for an away game before, many of us probably have). I'm sorry you had to endure abuse. In these circumstances, it's out of order IMO. Hope it doesn't put your daughter off going again.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Wasn't SIMMOSAYS was it? He got 4 Leeds fans slung out of the family stand once [emoji23]

Sent from my SM-A600FN using Tapatalk

 

[Stat Brother]

Abusive language in the Family Stand is a far worse crime than a smattering of Geordies.

 

[Ernest]

Why didn’t you SCREAM for a policeman

 

[Tooting Gull]

We might all be sorry it has come to this, but in this day and age I think it was pretty naive of you to go into a home area for such an important game and not anticipate any difficulties. Have you not to some degree brought it on your own children, and should shoulder part of the blame yourself? It is a family home fans area, not a mixed area, it's also a sold-out area, there isn't loads of empty spaces. Were you wearing colours/shirts? I took my young daughter to Spurs away last season but we had almost a block to ourselves even in a home section upper tier at Wembley, so no danger, and obviously no colours.

I don't like to see what happened to you going on and I certainly wouldn't have caused you this trouble myself, but home fans are already very tense for this game. Personally I have no real problem with an away fan sneaking in behind enemy lines, we have all done it, but they should keep pretty quiet. Unfortunately it can go wrong. If I took my kids to an away game in a home area in a crucial relegation battle for them, I wouldn't be complaining about whatever happened afterwards, I'd be looking at why I put them in that position in the first place.

I remember once when Millwall and Man City banned each other's fans after a lot of crowd trouble, one BBC presenter Man City fan went in the home end at the Den and then complained that she felt intimidated. This despite the fact that both the Met Police and GM Police had told fans not to do this.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Weve seen away fans (mostly kids admittedly) in the family stand on quite a few occasions, which has raised a few eyebrows but nothing more. I would've been tempted to have a word with a steward at halftime if it was that bad on Saturday - but totally agree it was uncalled for.
Randomly, my mate (BHAFC through and through) sat in the away end with his Mrs on Saturday as she got tickets through friends (she is from up that way) and my mate said it was a much better atmosphere compared to where he normally sits at the Amex, and none of the Geordies cared one bit that he was sat with them, despite him clearly being Albion.

 

[Mellotron]

From what you've described I don't condone the BHA fans' behaviour - however - openly chatting and making clear reference/inference that you are an away fan in the wrong end for a massively stressful and tense game is always going to be a huge risk, and a slightly daft thing to do.

 

[Blue Valkyrie]

A 5:30 kick off and 2.5 extra hours in the pub may not have helped for this game.

 

[Stumpy Tim]

especially at this stage of the season with tensions mounting.

I sit in the family stand, and don't condone the behaviour. However, just because you sit in that stand, it doesn't mean you're any less passionate. The key information is what I've quoted... if it was Brighton v Newcastle in October I highly doubt you would have had that problem.

 

[hans kraay fan club]

As others have said, it is a designated home stand. Outside of the actual away end, the only place where away fans (without colours) are implicitly permitted at the Amex is in the corporate areas. And even then they are best off keeping fairly discreet - especially if there is a lot riding on the game.

No excuse for the idiots to behave towards you as they did though, particularly with kids involved. If your presence really bothered them, their choice was to either sit there simmering quietly, or to go off and report you to a steward, who may have ejected you if he saw fit. Harsh, but he'd have been within his rights.

The only time I can remember incognito away fans in the family stand next to us, was for the Arsenal game last year. Two youngish chaps sat in the seats immediately next to us, sat quietly causing no bother, but not reacting at all when Dunk scored after a few minutes, except to quietly shake their heads. Didn't bother me, but the big chap immediately in front of them had also twigged and was less keen. then Murray put us two up, and as everybody was jumping about, he turned around, enveloped both of them in a massive bear hug, and makes them jump up and down, screaming 'Yessssssss!' in their faces.

They actually took it all in good spirits, and it was all perfectly amenable.

 

[Mellotron]

I had a pretty horrendous experience of a couple of gobby Toon fans sat next to me in the WSL for that 2-1 loss a couple of seasons back, when Diame scored the flukiest goal of all time. Still kinda wish to this day I had screamed for a policeman/pointed them out to a steward and gotten them chucked out before their two late goals.