Trouble at Leeds-Cardiff

[Starry]

You all will be fine. Same as anywhere, if you want trouble you'll find it but it's just as easily avoided.

 

[Brighton till i die]

a bit of a hostile atmosphere adds a great little edge to a football game anyway!!

 

[Dave the OAP]

"It would've been interesting to say the least, as our following yesterday was just about the most fearsome collection of individuals I think I've ever seen at a City away game, and that's saying something. But everyone behaved themselves perfectly and we had a good day out under the difficult circumstances."

But I thought the report said that only Cardiff people who got tickets had to travel by coach and got tickets near the ground.....I assume then they were vetted and found to be ok....why then the "fearsome" group....have you no controll over your thugs?

 

[Northstander]

Soon as I get out the away end, Im off!

I am not hanging about I can tell yer!!

2-1 to Albion I reckon!!

Bring it on!!

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

But I thought the report said that only Cardiff people who got tickets had to travel by coach and got tickets near the ground.....I assume then they were vetted and found to be ok....why then the "fearsome" group....have you no controll over your thugs?

The only people who got tickets were season ticket holders and club members. Who said they were thugs?

 

[readingstockport]

Laughing Bluebird, how does the away travel thing work if you're like me, living in exile from Stockport. We have a couple of Cardiff living in Reading who go to games I know, how do they pick up their tickets?

 

[Dave the OAP]

you said above they were a fearsome looking bunch....

Where I come from that is normally reserved for thugs!

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

Laughing Bluebird, how does the away travel thing work if you're like me, living in exile from Stockport. We have a couple of Cardiff living in Reading who go to games I know, how do they pick up their tickets?

Exiles make arrangements with the supporters clubs to be picked up en-route. We have a London-based supporters club, who pick up most of the southern contingent on the way to restricted travel matches up north.

The bus I travelled on to Millwall picked up a couple of guys from Reading outside a pub in Slough.

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

you said above they were a fearsome looking bunch....

A fearsome-looking bunch they were. That doesn't necessarily mean they are thugs. But it does mean they would most likely be more than capable of looking after themselves should the need arise. Thankfully, it didn't.

As you will have read in the reports, the Cardiff fans at Elland Road behaved impeccably. The supporters clubs also laid wreaths and flowers at the base of the Billy Bremner statue before the game in memory of the Leeds lads killed in Istanbul. Although Starry mentioned that gesture, none of the papers did.

No surprise there.

 

[Caveman]

I'm wearing a flat cap and taking a whippet.

 

[eagles #1]

The stupid thing is that the coaches which were being attacked only contained the drivers and, in a couple of cases, their families. All of the Cardiff fans were still inside Elland Road. The drivers were brought into the ground by the police a few minutes before the final whistle because the problems outside had already started.

As for the ticket situation, this is now becoming a regular thing for Cardiff fans. This season, our matches at Millwall and Leeds have already been so-called 'bubble trips' and the forthcoming matches at West Ham and Stoke will also follow a similar pattern.

The routine is that our fans (season ticket holders and club members) can only travel to these games on official coaches that are run by either the club or our three official supporters clubs. Alcohol on these coaches is banned and they are not allowed to stop at any pubs on the way to the game, or anywhere near the town or city we are visiting for any reason at all (yesterday's stop limit was 12 miles from Leeds).

Fans buy travel vouchers from the club in advance, which includes the cost of both the trip and a match ticket. These vouchers are handed to the reps on the coaches, and the reps then hand the vouchers over to the police at the designated rendezvous point (usually a service station at least 10 miles from the ground), who exchange them for match tickets after the coach has been searched for alcohol. The coaches are then taken to the ground by the police in convoys.

These measures may sound very Draconian, but in fairness they do eliminate the risk of trouble at games where the potential for such is high like it was yesterday.

The regulations are a pain in the arse, no doubt about that, but our fans have been living with them for several years now and we manage to have a laugh all the same. The supporters clubs are excellent and very organised, and there are plenty of ways around the old 'no alcohol' rule as long as we are careful!

Despite the hassle, I enjoyed yesterday's trip as much as I've enjoyed any other this season.

Sounds like following Cardiff away is more of a chore than fun! f***ing hell.

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

Sounds like following Cardiff away is more of a chore than fun!

We can live with it, and the behaviour of our fans on these restricted trips has generally been excellent. But the same can't be said for some of our rival fans. Here's a recent report of jail sentences that followed last year's trip to West Ham:



Seven football hooligans who rampaged through the streets of east London after a match at West Ham United’s Upton Park ground were jailed today.

The men were also given seven-year football banning orders preventing them from going to any domestic or England matches at home or abroad.

Police videos captured the moment when trouble flared as the home fans began goading rival Cardiff City supporters and throwing missiles, including phones, beer bottles and rubbish bins at them and police officers in February last year.

Alec Jones, 24, of Cambus Road, Canning Town, east London; David Thomas, 38, of Barking Road, Canning Town; Glenn Hicks, 25, of Belfarm Avenue, Dagenham; Martin Fox, 35, of Bonnygate, Basildon in Essex; Michael Parle, 37, of Stratton Drive, Barking; Ojijide Ikoli, 46, of Sherwood Gardens, Isle of Dogs, east London; and Paul Row, 38, of Reddown Road, Coulsdon, Surrey had all pleaded guilty to affray in relation to the incident, which came after their team beat the Welsh side 1-0.

Sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge Georges Khayat QC said the cases “well and truly” passed the custody threshold.

“As far as street violence is concerned, society is sick and tired of people who choose to resort to violence in stressful situations to the detriment of other street users,” the judge said.

“Enough is enough. It makes it worse that as a result of or around a football match; it ruins, besmirches the name of football.

“It has got to the stage where if a game is being played abroad one shudders to think of those football supporters who go out there and have fights and give other supporters a bad name.

“I’m not surprised that in many instances other countries are saying don’t send your supporters to matches.”

When the defendants’ houses were searched, Thomas’s mobile phone was found to have the logo of the Inter City Firm – the notorious West Ham supporters’ gang – on its screen.

 

[Albion Rob]

A fearsome-looking bunch they were. That doesn't necessarily mean they are thugs.

I can see where you're coming from there. I think I probably look a bit mean but I'm actually a bit of a PUSSY.

 

[The Wookiee]

We can live with it, and the behaviour of our fans on these restricted trips has generally been excellent. But the same can't be said for some of our rival fans. Here's a recent report of jail sentences that followed last year's trip to West Ham:



Seven football hooligans who rampaged through the streets of east London after a match at West Ham United’s Upton Park ground were jailed today.

The men were also given seven-year football banning orders preventing them from going to any domestic or England matches at home or abroad.

Police videos captured the moment when trouble flared as the home fans began goading rival Cardiff City supporters and throwing missiles, including phones, beer bottles and rubbish bins at them and police officers in February last year.

Alec Jones, 24, of Cambus Road, Canning Town, east London; David Thomas, 38, of Barking Road, Canning Town; Glenn Hicks, 25, of Belfarm Avenue, Dagenham; Martin Fox, 35, of Bonnygate, Basildon in Essex; Michael Parle, 37, of Stratton Drive, Barking; Ojijide Ikoli, 46, of Sherwood Gardens, Isle of Dogs, east London; and Paul Row, 38, of Reddown Road, Coulsdon, Surrey had all pleaded guilty to affray in relation to the incident, which came after their team beat the Welsh side 1-0.

Sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Judge Georges Khayat QC said the cases “well and truly” passed the custody threshold.

“As far as street violence is concerned, society is sick and tired of people who choose to resort to violence in stressful situations to the detriment of other street users,” the judge said.

“Enough is enough. It makes it worse that as a result of or around a football match; it ruins, besmirches the name of football.

“It has got to the stage where if a game is being played abroad one shudders to think of those football supporters who go out there and have fights and give other supporters a bad name.

“I’m not surprised that in many instances other countries are saying don’t send your supporters to matches.”

When the defendants’ houses were searched, Thomas’s mobile phone was found to have the logo of the Inter City Firm – the notorious West Ham supporters’ gang – on its screen.

Did the Cardiff fans retaliate in anyway?

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

Did the Cardiff fans retaliate in anyway?

Not that I'm aware of. There were no Cardiff fans arrested.

The West Ham mob were throwing missiles at the Cardiff fans and fighting with the police. The trouble went on for ages. Our coaches didn't get to leave the Upton Park area until about 6-30pm.

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

Here's the Yorkshire Evening Post report on Saturday's events. These English hooligans, I dunno.....

POLICE fought running battles with a Leeds United mob following the club's match with Cardiff City on Saturday.

Two officers were injured and 10 arrests made after hundreds of Leeds yobs gathered outside Elland Road at the final whistle in a bid to confront the visiting Welsh fans.

City's supporters were kept in the ground for more than 45 minutes as a massive police presence struggled to move the United hordes back a safe distance. Repeated charges by officers on horseback forced a large number of thugs – many of them hurling stones, traffic cones and other missiles – to retreat past the McDonalds restaurant on Elland Road.

Others were driven back as far as the roundabout close to the M621 exit slip road and the stadium bus park. Still more were herded up Wesley Street.

It later emerged that one of the officers injured in the disturbances had been dragged from his horse by a fan, while the second had suffered a blow to his leg.

Saturday's 1-1 draw marked Cardiff's first visit to Leeds since 2002's infamous FA Cup tie between the two sides, and a huge security operation was mounted to try to prevent any repeat of the violence that erupted at that game.

City supporters had to travel to Yorkshire on official coaches, picking up their match tickets at a secret rendezvous point about 10 miles from Elland Road.

One eye-witness said today: "It was pretty scary stuff – if the Leeds hooligans couldn't get to the Cardiff fans, then they seemed quite happy to take it out on the police.

"There were a lot of young lads there with hoods, caps and scarves hiding their faces, but there were also plenty of older blokes in their 30s and 40s.

"Everyone seemed desperate to outflank the police – you kept hearing shouts of 'go round the back.'

"Leeds chants were continually going up, and England songs were being sung too. It was very intimidating all round."

Sporadic trouble was still breaking out as late as 6pm, when police armed with riot shields were involved in a skirmish at the underpass near United's conference and exhibition centre.

A 40-strong gang pelted the officers with missiles as they advanced through the tunnel, and eventually dogs had to be brought in to restore order.

By that stage, the 1,300 or so Cardiff fans who had been at the game had been let out of Elland Road. They were ushered on to their coaches directly outside the East Stand, protected by a cordon of police vans that had been formed near the Billy Bremner statue.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said all 10 people arrested at the match were thought to be Leeds fans. He also said that the Cardiff supporters had behaved "impeccably."

 

[Biscuit]

Leeds should be fined. Heavily.

But who remembers what the Cardiff lot have been up to in the not so recent past?

Knives?
Bricks?
Piss?

 

[Starry]

Leeds should be fined. Heavily.

Fined by who?

 

[Biscuit]

Fined by who?

The F.A takes football thuggery very seriously.

 

[The Laughing Bluebird]

Leeds should be fined. Heavily. But who remembers what the Cardiff lot have been up to in the not so recent past? Knives Bricks? Piss?

Not so recent past? Surely you mean not too distant past?

Anyway, you appear to be in the know. What have Cardiff been 'up to' in the no so recent past?

Knives? Bricks? Piss? What are you talking about?