Season 77/78

St Etienne - Manchester United - 14/09/1977

Source : Press

It was September 14, 1977 when the English disease truly crossed the Channel. Gone were the black stains of industry on the playing surface of Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, replaced by the red of blood as Manchester United supporters imported hooliganism for the first time to France.

There had been warnings the evening before. A “small group” of United fans had caused mayhem in the town the previous night, smashing windows, destroying a hotel lobby and looting a shop, but the real trouble was to follow prior to the match inside Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Manchester United Saint-Etienne 1977
Around an hour before kick off, 500 Manchester United fans gathered behind one of the goals. “Armed with bottles, sticks and knives they went for the supporters of the French team,” The Times reported.

“Insults gave way to violence, then confrontation”, Saint-Etienne’s history records.

Gripped by panic, the home fans sought refuge by climbing the grills surrounding the field, which broke under the sheer weight of bodies against them and led to more supporters piling onto the pitch.

It was in the midst of this solid iron twisting and breaking that the majority of the 33 injuries, including five serious, occurred. Local reports at the time indicated that it was fortunate fans were nimble enough to climb the grills, else there may have been multiple deaths.

In came the riot troops from the police’s CRS branch, and to cries of “Allez les Bleus” coming from sections of the home support, and dislodged the offending English fans and their third charge.

When the pictures of the terraces appeared in the press the following day, they looked like a battlefield.

"The red storm has given an evil air to Les Verts’ supporters," ran one newspaper headline the following day, while Le Progres reported: “The English fans have brought war to the stadiums.”

While hooliganism in England at that time was rife, and becoming even more commonplace, there was still an innocence in France that shocked witnesses at the time. Leeds fans had caused trouble in Paris prior to the European Cup final of 1975, but this was the first time it had an effect on their fans.

“We might be punished for not having surrounded the English with a police cordon and barbed wire,” president Roger Rocher, one of the great characters of French football, proclaimed. “They were the worst hooligans I have ever seen. This ground had been without a blemish until these gangsters came here and started drinking.”


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English

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
How Manchester United introduced France to hooliganism
Robin Bairner
Last UpdatedFeb 22, 2017
Feb 22, 201709:00 UTC +01:00


COMMENTS
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UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE
SAINT-ÉTIENNE V MANCHESTER UNITED
MANCHESTER UNITED
SAINT-ÉTIENNE

The French were left stunned by the scale of the trouble supporters of the Red Devils brought to their shores the last time they were in Saint-Etienne
COMMENT
It was September 14, 1977 when the English disease truly crossed the Channel. Gone were the black stains of industry on the playing surface of Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, replaced by the red of blood as Manchester United supporters imported hooliganism for the first time to France.

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This was the golden era of Les Verts, when they were the giants of French football and stood among the very best in Europe. Little more than a year prior, they had infamously been denied European Cup glory by the square goalframe at Hampden Park, which they struck twice in a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. Fans still protest that if the crossbar and posts had been round, they would have won.

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But while the signing of the great Michel Platini was still to come two years in the future, Sainte’s best days were behind them. A run of three successive French titles had been ended a year earlier, and in the first round of the Cup Winners’ Cup, the first and only time they played the competition, they were pitted against Manchester United.

On the field, United played on the counter, riding their luck as the home side missed a slew of chances but equally having three goals disallowed of their own before Gordon Hill gave them the lead with 12 minutes left. Poor defending allowed Christian Synaeghel to level almost immediately, with the game finishing square.

The story of the night, though, had already been played out in the terraces before kick off.

It was meant to be a historic day for Saint-Etienne, who had opened their first club shop beside the ground, still a rarity in those days, which were far more innocent of commercialism than the game today. However, the date continues to resonate for very different reasons.

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There had been warnings the evening before. A “small group” of United fans had caused mayhem in the town the previous night, smashing windows, destroying a hotel lobby and looting a shop, but the real trouble was to follow prior to the match inside Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

Manchester United Saint-Etienne 1977
Around an hour before kick off, 500 Manchester United fans gathered behind one of the goals. “Armed with bottles, sticks and knives they went for the supporters of the French team,” The Times reported.

“Insults gave way to violence, then confrontation”, Saint-Etienne’s history records.

Gripped by panic, the home fans sought refuge by climbing the grills surrounding the field, which broke under the sheer weight of bodies against them and led to more supporters piling onto the pitch.

It was in the midst of this solid iron twisting and breaking that the majority of the 33 injuries, including five serious, occurred. Local reports at the time indicated that it was fortunate fans were nimble enough to climb the grills, else there may have been multiple deaths.

In came the riot troops from the police’s CRS branch, and to cries of “Allez les Bleus” coming from sections of the home support, and dislodged the offending English fans and their third charge.

When the pictures of the terraces appeared in the press the following day, they looked like a battlefield.

"The red storm has given an evil air to Les Verts’ supporters," ran one newspaper headline the following day, while Le Progres reported: “The English fans have brought war to the stadiums.”


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While hooliganism in England at that time was rife, and becoming even more commonplace, there was still an innocence in France that shocked witnesses at the time. Leeds fans had caused trouble in Paris prior to the European Cup final of 1975, but this was the first time it had an effect on their fans.

“We might be punished for not having surrounded the English with a police cordon and barbed wire,” president Roger Rocher, one of the great characters of French football, proclaimed. “They were the worst hooligans I have ever seen. This ground had been without a blemish until these gangsters came here and started drinking.”

Roger Rocher Saint-Etienne 1977
Indeed, Rocher’s fear that his side could be criticised was partially correct as UK Sports Minister Dennis Howell hit out at “a lot of deficiencies on the home club’s side”. Nevertheless, CRS troops were present at the ground – something totally unprecedented in Saint-Etienne at the time.

UEFA, however, sided with the French outfit and initially expelled United from the competition, much to the disgust of their players.

“It’s too ridiculous for words,” goalkeeper Alex Stepney told the BBC. “As far as I’m concerned as a player for United, United fans have nothing at all to do with me. We went over there and gave an advert for football, both teams. I mean, we’re getting condemned for something we haven’t done.”















---------------------------

Source : Le Progrès

Coventry City - Nottingham Forest - 22/04/1978

Source: mail

(...) The first sign of it is one away supporter, clearly in a state of euphoria at his team’s inaugural championship, who in the clip below can be seen breaking the police line just as the camera zooms in on the raucous terrace. His goal, once on the pitch, is unclear, but presumably the need to burn off some excess energy made a sprint around the grass the most obvious thing to do.

Surprisingly, however, it is from the home end that a leak is sprung. Perhaps due to the polic being busy with the Forest fans, Coventry supporters enter the pitch en masse and head towards the other end of the stadium.



What happens next, though, is a bit of a let down for those expecting all-out carnage. Clearly not knowing quite what they wanted to achieve, the young mob stops short of the penalty box. Corralled by only a hand-full of police, a few Nottingham nut-jobs (they won’t mind us calling them that) do make it on to confront the Sky Blues fans.

Most of the away support continue to sing and hold up scarfs, while the coppers on the pitch move the invaders back towards their own end.

With the constables happy to contain them around their own penalty box, the Coventry fans conduct their own sing-song. The sight of scarfs in the air is one that would become obsolete in the following decade, as casual culture took over.

Just when the situation seems under control, the inverse of the earlier scenario takes place. With the police occupied at the other end, the Forest fans seize their chance and, in large numbers, stream out of their enclosures.

Once again, though, anyone expecting full scale war watching on from the main stand will have been heart broke, as the Forest fans police themselves by stopping around the half-way line, showing an “innocence” still of the age that would quickly fade.

At last, some brawls do actually take place, although the authorities successfully keep the two bodies of humanity away from each other from the most part. Perhaps with two teams of more sinister reputations, a critical scene would have developed.

Back in the terrace, the remainder of the away fans continue to celebrate their brilliant season and league win.

Brighton & Hove Albion - Tottenham Hotspur - 15/04/1978

Source : Alamy