Supporters are not criminals.

“Bolton had already come from behind in a lively derby that saw a number of Wigan fans ejected for setting off flares and smoke bombs.”

It’s the same situation as the Middlesbrough versus Sunderland game which was mentioned last week, of which there is a probe into due to a flare was set off and now ‘a number’ of Wigan fans have been ejected from the Reebok Stadium, home of Bolton Wanderers, for setting off smoke bombs and flares as the quote says. But why? There is no logic behind it whatsoever, FWFIN understands that is against ground regulations, but so is bringing musical instruments into a ground, but the England band are allowed to go all around the world without any hassle. But as soon as any form of pyro is set off, stewards and the plod feel like that the world is going to come to an end and they have to get people kicked out the ground, or failing that, video evidence will be studied and then whoever it maybe will be nicked further down the line. 

One good point though, is that pyro seems to be getting used more in this country as the weeks go by and I think it will only increase, it’s the same as a lot of other things, things such as the one at the Sunderland game and the few at the Wigan game are covered by the media, but it goes on in many more places, which is kept out of the papers and the media. However, when a European club comes over to England, just take Hadjuk Split as an example, when they played Stoke at the Britannia Stadium, they set off numerous amounts of pyro, but nothing was done, because they were foreign. The commentators will always say how good the support is from European clubs is when pyro has gone off, so why is it condemned so much in this country! 

In modern day stadiums, you have so much CCTV watching you for the duration that you’re in the ground, you feel like a criminal, FWFIN understands that it’s for your ‘safety and security’, but surely that’s why stewards are hired? Just think, your every move is watched, it’s an invasion of privacy, of course people will say, if you’ve got nothing to hide, then there’s no problem. Look at it the other way, you’re being watched constantly, the security team know what you’re wearing everytime you step into the ground, they know where you will be in the stand, who you will be with. 

On a unrelated matter, Portsmouth FC players threw their shirts into the stand housing their supporters away at Blackpool on Saturday as a show of appreciation for the long journey that they encountered for the evening kick off. The players that threw their tops into the crowd, will have to replace them themselves, due to the fact that the club’s accounts have been frozen and the players haven’t been paid for weeks and they will be in court next week to try and avoid a winding up order. They own in excess of twenty million pounds, however, to a club like Man City, it’s just loose change, they could quite easily help them out. As well as Darlington who are clinging on to existence by the skin of their teeth. 

Supporters are not criminals.

Football without fans is nothing.