[Albion] Teargas Gate 36 hours on

[West Upper Seagull]

Apologies if fixtures.

I hope everyone involved is okay, it was pretty distressing even for a cynical old git like me to see Albion fans young and old in that situation.

On reflection the thing I’m struggling to get my head round is that clearly this wouldn’t have been the first time the Athens riot Police had let the gas off in the area outside the stadium so therefore someone in authority clearly knew there was a risk that the gas would drift back into the stadium and affect the law abiding Albion fans inside.

And will UEFA make anyone responsible accountable for this decision?

And one final question, with a gate in the Perspex fence, could and should PC Baulkham on witnessing the chaos asked someone on the pitch perimeter to get the gate open to allow the Albion fans to get away from the gas, rather than walking away?

3 showers on, does anyone else still getting a waft of the gas in their nostrils?

What particular riled me was once it was obvious us fans were suffering we still weren’t allowed back onto the concourse to take shelter !

 

[sydney]

I think most British clubs fans that have been following them away in Europe for decades are probably laughing at our naivety at the moment. As for the idea that UEFA might step in and do something…

Have to say it’s mildly amusing watching the people who would always bleat ‘you will never find trouble if you don’t go looking for it’ and who would automatically blame English fans abroad any time there are issues, while never having been abroad for football before themselves, now finding out that actually it’s a bit different over there.

bang on,,!

 

[Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ]

What particular riled me was once it was obvious us fans were suffering we still weren’t allowed back onto the concourse to take shelter !

It was much worse in the concourse, that’s where it was wafting in from

 

[dazzer6666]

So it was the Brighton fans fault the AEK fans were taking swings around the perspex? Typical sort of response on here shifting the blame onto the BHA fans

And take action against who? For what?

That’s not what I said and you know it.

 

[Colonel Mustard]

So it was the Brighton fans fault the AEK fans were taking swings around the perspex? Typical sort of response on here shifting the blame onto the BHA fans

And take action against who? For what?

There were a few Brighton fans who made matters worse, yes. I had to literally drag one young wanker away from the perspex screen who was totally out of control.

 

[London Pompous]

I can still taste it today but it’s starting to fade.

It’s f***ing PATHETIC that UEFA just shrug this off as ‘local culture’. AEK can’t control their fans, it is THAT SIMPLE. We all know that we would be kicked out of Europe in a heartbeat if it happened here.
I would actually like BHA to make a bit more of a fuss than they appear to be doing.

Pathetic, if you think that PC Daz or Paul Barber can control me and my crew you’re living in Fairyland son.

You were clearly never around when we won the hooligan Strictly Come Dancing competition a few years ago when my samba was given 10’s all round and Guppy’s Argentinian Tango with Big Hilda was so moving that Len soiled himself.

 

[ROSM]

So it was the Brighton fans fault the AEK fans were taking swings around the perspex? Typical sort of response on here shifting the blame onto the BHA fans

And take action against who? For what?

I really don't think that is what he is saying.

I will say in the lower tier that on at least one occasion things had calmed down when a handful of ours went over to the netting and inflamed the situation again including a couple who were nowhere around when it 1st started but pushed their way across when it was calmer to then start goading the home fans including those who were guiding the more angry home fans away.

So did they cause it? No. Did they make things worse? Possibly

If the situation had calmed down in the lower tier there would have been less people in the concourse when the tear gas hit and no crushing on the stairs to get back into fresher air.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Unpleasant for sure but in a weird way it was also a bit of a box tick to experience it. 43 years of support and that’s my first tear gassing. Lovely.

Somewhere in all of the posts I warned people were in for a shock travelling into Europe. Police in Europe don’t mess around. They just don’t. Seen it for England away games. Away fans routinely treated like dirt. Home fans routinely get away with awful behaviour.

And please can we stop making references to and blaming PC Balkham. He has zero responsibility for these games. He is there as an observer. The local police may listen to him but they almost certainly won’t act unless they want to anyway. They do their own thing. Nothing that goes wrong is his fault. Nothing at all. It’s just a cheap attack to blame him for any of this. I think he does a great job generally and I’m sure he is frustrated as all of us by the way we get treated in Europe.

Giraffe, I wasn’t blaming PC Darren, just merely saying amongst the chaos a number of people clearly in distress down the front were directly appealing to him, I caught the end of it when he turned and walked away, which in itself prompted a fair bit of reaction.

I asked could he have got that gate to the pitch opened, clearly not, otherwise I’m sure he would have done.

I‘ve no doubt when I see him in the next week or so at the Amex he will furnish me with his version of events.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Out of interest how many did this incident affect? I have heard stories from others who said it didn’t really have much impact on them.

Was there just a specific part of the away and which was affected/more affected than others.

 

[Superphil]

Tear gas use is apparently a pretty regular occurrence at Greek stadia

At the big 4, PAOK, AEK, Panathanikos, and Olympiacos, away fans are not allowed. At the other Super League grounds crowds are measured in the very low thousands, and at a couple in the hundreds.

That said, I think there would have little if any problem if the utter bellends in our crowd hadn’t been goading their fans from the start of the game. The AEK fans just through the Perspex from us were sat watching the game and just looked at the utter twat hammering on the Perspex right from the start as if to say WTF? The moron then made his way to the front of the tier to join in with a couple of others hammering on the Perspex (it was polycarbonate actually) and spending more time goading the AEK fans than watching the game. Not excusing the AEK fans who responded, but why those in our stand felt the need to behave like that I don’t know. There is no doubt in my Mind it was their actions that garnered the response (that they no doubt wanted) from the AEK fans.

Also, regarding the Sussex police at the match, I’m not sure they had any jurisdiction at the game, they were there in an observation capacity so perhaps they weren’t able to do anything more than they did, and I don’t believe for one minute they just did nothing.

 

[Midget]

Out of interest how many did this incident affect? I have heard stories from others who said it didn’t really have much impact on them.

Was there just a specific part of the away and which was affected/more affected than others.

I believe the lower tier was worse than the upper, and the front of the upper was worse than the back

 

[ROSM]

Out of interest how many did this incident affect? I have heard stories from others who said it didn’t really have much impact on them.

Was there just a specific part of the away and which was affected/more affected than others.

I cant speak for anybody else. All i can say was that in the lower tier, many had moved to the lower concourse to escape bottles being thrown. There were open barred gates on 3 sides (the stairs to pitch on the 4th). The tear gas was fired outside two of the barred gates and came in through them into that concourse where it was dense and thick.

Once outside in the seats i could still sense it but it was nowhere near as bad. I saw people on the upper tier (front) with faces covered. I know gas rises so not sure how strong it was up there

 

[Nicks]

I expect people who were still feeling the effects of the gas 24/48 hours later went back to their hotels and packed their contaminated clothing in the same case as the rest of their clothes therefore contaminating the remaining clothes which then gives you very mild irritation until all said clothes are washed.

 

[Superphil]

Loads between their fans and the police outside the ground (hence the gassing), bit of segregation handbags after the game, some bottle and glass luzzing between tiers and the segregated bits. We were all herded on to buses and shipped in convoy with a police escort back to the city centre

Spitting, punches, slaps and cups of piss thrown around the segregation panels all through the match at our side, not just after the game. No stewards on either side, ‘our boys’ there must have had a 90 minute (+injury time) boner the way they were behaving. They certainly proved that polycarbonate cannot be broken, and also that BHAs attempts to remove the twats from our ‘fanbase’ is still a work in progress.

 

[Nicks]

I believe the lower tier was worse than the upper, and the front of the upper was worse than the back

It wasn't that thick to be honest.
Once I smelt it I went up the stairs and luckily there was no panic of pushing and shoving.
To be honest I think the majority of fans down there have never known the smell of CS Gas therefore we're unaware of what was wafting through to them.

 

[Horses Arse]

Given Mr Balkham is our designated intermediary with the local authorities on safe transport, alongside club employees no doubt, are we able to ask for better?..

Marseille - The bus return debacle - no clear communication about what was going on pre or post match with when buses would be moving- crushing in gangways etc

Amsterdam - loss of several flags in Ajax’s custody despite (denied entry for fire safety etc) assurances made from Mr Balkham that flags would be returned… they were not.. at cost to their owners

Athens - A) the absence of any security on the home side of the perspex for starters.. B) the bungled travel advice (no issues on metro or taxi in)
C) the teargas - as @dazzer6666 says you could see that cloud approaching and that it would be an issue but we were allowed to inhale it before any action taken - hopefully no serious issues healthwise - and why were the lower tier not let out prior if the concentration there was worse than upper tier..?!

If there isnt going to be any meaningful dialogue between local authorities and our security/police reps, nor clear and accurate communication onwards to fans - then is it worth them being here??

Rant over..!

Someone will claim that we don't know how hard they worked to avoid these issues, that it is not as easy as you may think, that the club never get anything wrong and are always faultless and that it is the fans that are the problem.

Mind you, on this occasion and based on the points you raise I'm going to step up and take that role. Got to share the burden.

I really don't see how the club or UK plod rep has any responsibility/control over how another club or another country deals with its fans (noting that some on here seemed to believe that our fans have to be banned if another club ejects them - the delusion of some!)

 

[dazzer6666]

I really don't think that is what he is saying.

I will say in the lower tier that on at least one occasion things had calmed down when a handful of ours went over to the netting and inflamed the situation again including a couple who were nowhere around when it 1st started but pushed their way across when it was calmer to then start goading the home fans including those who were guiding the more angry home fans away.

So did they cause it? No. Did they make things worse? Possibly

If the situation had calmed down in the lower tier there would have been less people in the concourse when the tear gas hit and no crushing on the stairs to get back into fresher air.

Thanks - exactly that. A very small minority of ours in the upper tier were doing the same on both sides of the away end. Still don’t understand why the stewards in the home end didn’t clear their side out. They did literally nothing and stood there watching for ages.

 

[Horses Arse]

Although there were a few individuals who were goading their fans and contributed to an increase in things being thrown. And the usual people nowhere near who come along when its calming down and fan the flames again. These 3 european away games jave seen some stupid behaviour from a small minority which have caused issues for others.
One guy who had been pushing and shoving coming out of ajax (including an elderly man who was unsteady on his feet) and who then tried to fight other albion fans was in the midst again on Thursday pushing his way to the lower fence and goading the home fans. He was very distinctive and loads of people we met after the game all independently commented on him.

No doubt he'll be there for the next game too. That's the problem with the zero intelligence/un-considered black & white application of 'the rules' as they see them. Ejection or other form of identification by the opposing club=ban. Without that, or fans getting police involved after the event, then such folk just keep turning up.

I chatted to a fan at the forest game who got banned to reacting to a sniffer dog jumping up at him! Meanwhile, arseholes like the one you mentioned carry on regardless.

I hope to be proved wrong.

 

[Midget]

Once outside in the seats i could still sense it but it was nowhere near as bad. I saw people on the upper tier (front) with faces covered. I know gas rises so not sure how strong it was up there

Probably why I wasn't affected as much as the people next to me

 

[ROSM]

I expect people who were still feeling the effects of the gas 24/48 hours later went back to their hotels and packed their contaminated clothing in the same case as the rest of their clothes therefore contaminating the remaining clothes which then gives you very mild irritation until all said clothes are washed.

Yep. I googled and threw all the clothes we were wearing into bags in the bathroom. All washed twice when home