Season 07/08 - April

Paris fans' cup final slur provokes outrage - 01/04/2008

Source : Independent

President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for tough action against football fans who displayed a 30-metre long banner at a cup final accusing people from northern France of being "jobless, inbred paedophiles".

President Sarkozy, who was present at the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs Lens match at the weekend, said that "hate-mongering" by Paris fans was "unacceptable". Other politicians called for the league cup final, won 2-1 by PSG, to be replayed to teach the Parisian fans a lesson.

The incident has provoked fury and consternation among French people who have been going in droves to see a comic film that mocks the anti-northern prejudices of Parisians and southerners. The movie, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, has shattered box-office records in France in the last month and looks likely to become the most popular French movie of all time.

The film gives a humorous, good-natured portrait of the oddities of language and culture of the "Ch'tis", natives of the most northerly French region, the Nord-Pas de Calais.

At Saturday night's match against a northern club, Racing Club de Lens, Paris supporters briefly displayed a long banner which said: "Pédophiles, chomeurs, consanguins: bienvenue chez les ch'tis." (Paedophiles, unemployed and in-bred: welcome to the home of the ch'tis).

Paris fans have the reputation of being the most violent, stupid and racist in France. This was the first time, however, that they had tried to stir up hatred against an entire region.

President Sarkozy attended the match at the Stade de France, just north of Paris, with his 10-year-old son, Louis. When he saw the banner, displayed at the beginning of the second half, he told the president of the French football league, Frédéric Thiriez, that he would walk out unless it was removed. Within four minutes the banner was gone.

A spokesman for one of the most excitable tribes of PSG fans, the "Boulogne Boys", apologised yesterday and blamed a small minority of hot-heads. The banner was, however, draped across many seats allocated to PSG fans. It was smuggled into the Stade de France in squares of cloth and then assembled inside. This did not suggest the action of a small minority.

Politicians in northern France called on PSG yesterday to agree to a replay of the final. French football league rules, however, would appear to make this impossible.

The Elysée Palace said that President Sarkozy had been the, "shocked witness of the display of a hate-mongering banner" at Saturday night's match. "The head of state expects this kind of unacceptable behaviour to be punished in an appropriate manner," the statement said.

A preliminary investigation has been launched into "provocation of hatred and violence" by persons unknown. Officials of PSG and the Stade de France said that they hoped to identify the culprits from seat numbers and closed-circuit TV cameras.

The writer and director of Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, Dany Boon, described the banner as "shameful and lamentable".

"This is an act of human stupidity, no, inhuman stupidity" he said.

M. Boon, a stand-up comedian turned actor and film-maker, is himself from the Pas de Calais. The region has long been regarded – without first-hand knowledge – by many French people as beyond redemption: cold, wet and economically deprived.

M. Boon's movie seeks gently to reverse the prejudice by celebrating the warm-heartedness of the French north and turning the joke against the south.

*************************************************************

Source : EnjoyFrance.com

French police investigate Paris St Germain football fans

French police are doing what they can to find the ringleaders of a group of football fans who displayed an offensive banner at the League Cup final on Sunday, which was between Paris St Germain and Lens, from the industrial northeastern part of France.

Paris St Germain fans had unfurled a banner at the game at the Stade de France, which was clearly offensive and liable to incite trouble because it called the people from northern France unemployed, inbred paedophiles.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who was present at the match with his son has said what was done by these football fans was "inadmissible".

The banner was held up for a short while during the second half of the match, and the wording on it is a reference to the title of a recent French film, Welcome to the land of the Ch'tis.

President Nicolas Sarkozy added that he was "a dismayed witness to the unfurling of a hateful banner."

Both Paris St Germain and Lens football clubs have made legal complaints about the incident, and so has the French Football League.

Paris St Germain has been known to have had trouble from their fans in the past.

If French police catch the people behind this they could be charged with inciting hatred or violence, and could face imprisonment.

Premier League - Police prob into Anfield trouble - 01/04/2008

Source: Eurosport

Merseyside Police have confirmed they will speak to Liverpool and Everton about alleged incidents in the weekend's derby at Anfield.

Officers are investigating claims Toffees captain Phil Neville was spat on and punched by Liverpool fans as he prepared to take a throw-in.

They are also looking at reports that Reds skipper Steven Gerrard was subjected to hate-filled chants about his daughter.

Cameras clearly captured Neville, who was targeted for being a former Manchester United player, being abused by several fans in the second half of Liverpool's 1-0 victory.

As Neville, whose brother Gary still plays for United, prepared to take a throw supporters could be seen just inches away screaming down his neck.

And Gerrard faced a torrent of abuse as he walked to take a corner in front of visiting fans in the second half.

"Police will be speaking to the clubs involved today," said a spokesman for Merseyside Police.

Dave Lewis, the force's football liaison officer, who travels abroad with the teams when they play in Europe, will conduct the discussions.

Everton spokesman Ian Ross said: "We felt it necessary to try to involve the safety officers and police because we cannot have a situation where supporters are having physical contact with professional footballers during the game.

"We want to make sure that doesn't happen again at the Merseyside derby or any other game."

Responding to Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez's comments that he was "very disappointed" by the abuse aimed at Gerrard, he added: "Whilst we would never condone the singling out of individual players for vitriolic insults, it is a shame that Mr Benitez chose to ignore the actions of his own club's supporters.

"Not only was Joleon Lescott subjected to an afternoon-long barrage of quite disgusting and quite audible abuse, Phil Neville was seemingly spat at several times and was also punched in the back by a supporter as he took a throw-in.

"We have asked Merseyside Police and our safety officer to look into the matter.

"In calling for Everton supporters to respect his players, Mr Benitez should, perhaps, remember his comments of 12 months ago when he sought to belittle one of world sport's oldest and most respected institutions by describing us as a 'small club'.

"Respect is a two-way street."

Police in Rome on high alert ahead of AS Roma-Man Utd. game - 01/04/2008

Source : AKI

Police in the Italian capital Rome have mounted a major security operation ahead of Tuesday's AS Roma-Manchester United football game for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, reported Italian daily Corriere della Sera.

The last time both teams played, Manchester Utd. ended Roma's hopes to advance after defeating the Italian team with a humiliating score of 7-1.

It is estimated that 1,500 police officers will be deployed in the area of Rome's Olympic Stadium, while another unknown number of British police officers are already in Rome according to the report.

Some 4,000 English football fans are also scheduled to arrive for the game.

The police in Rome expect a tense situation, especially following the death of a football fan from Parma, Matteo Bagnaresi, who died on Sunday after a bus carrying fans of rival team Juventus ran him over.

Corriere della Sera reports that one of the preventive measures taken by Italian authorities was to ban the sale of alcohol from 9am until 11pm on Tuesday.

There will also be extra security forces deployed near the Regina Coeli prison in Rome where four British football hooligans have been detained since last December after disturbances following the previous Roma-Manchester United game.

British police officers have said that there is the possibility of protests as a sign of support and solidarity with the detained hooligans.

The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) spokesman William Gaillard said on Monday that the city of Rome risks losing the chance to host of the 2009 UEFA Champions league final game if violent incidents take place this evening.

RACITI: 21-YEAR-OLD OUTSIDER HOOLIGANS 2ND ARRESTED - 01/03/2008

Source : AGI News

The second suspect of the murder of police inspector Filippo Raciti is a 21-year-old man from Catania, Daniele Micale, he has a clean record and doesn't belong to the world of football supporters. He is accused of complicity in the murder, together with Antonino Speziale, 18 years, already arrested in the days after the riots during the derby Catania-Palermo on February 2. The investigating judge had ordered the arrest on request of assistant prosecutors Renato Papa and Andrea Bonomo. The investigators would have found out more about the way Raciti was killed by the two, who would have used an aluminium sink.

AS Roma - Manchester United - 01/04/2008

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk

Trouble avoided after carabinieri clampdown

Four Roma fans were arrested in central Rome prior to last night's Champions League quarter-final, but fears of a repeat of the violence that has blighted earlier United-Roma games in the past year were not fulfilled. Asked to produce identification by police the four responded physically and were taken to a police station for questioning.


By the start of play there had been no serious trouble between 3,800 United fans who flew to Rome for the game and the 78,000-plus Roma fans who packed the city's Stadio Olimpico for the crucial match. There was an unparalleled level of security, with more than 1,400 police, uniformed and plain-clothes, on duty in and around the ground and a ban on sales of alcohol in force across much of the city. If the aftermath of the game is equally peaceable the authorities on both sides will heave a sigh of relief.

In last year's quarter final between the two sides here, three United fans were stabbed and 11 needed hospital treatment. Twenty-one Manchester fans were arrested during the return game in Manchester, and when the two teams met again in Rome in December, four United fans were charged and convicted of crimes of violence and are still in jail, serving two and a half year sentences. Last night's match came at a delicate moment for Italian football. A Parma fan was run over and killed on Sunday at a motorway service area, leading to the cancellation of the Juventus-Parma game he was travelling to see. It was a reminder of the incident last November when a Lazio fan was shot dead by a policeman at another service area, which prompted rioting outside the Stadio Olimpico, which Roma share with Lazio.

The hard-core Italian fans known as Ultras have gained a ferocious reputation in recent years, and several fans of Real Madrid were stabbed here in February, and their buses stoned. For visiting British fans the often heavy-handed tactics of Italian carabinieri and police are the other factor to fear. Dozens of United fans were injured by police baton charges inside the Olympic stadium last year. Despite laying down the law in and around the ground, the Italian authorities have declined to be held accountable for incidents further afield, prompting an outburst by Uefa communications director William Gaillard.

"The police say they cannot control the city and that is not satisfactory," he said before the game. "If we see a repeat of what we have seen so far it may be wise to move the 2009 Champions League final from Rome. Knifings are attempted murder. We cannot be held hostage by a few criminals."
**********************************************************
Source: http://news.sky.com

Anti-Hooligan Seats For Man Utd Fans

Anti-hooligan seats have been installed at the Olympic Stadium in Rome ahead of Roma's clash with Manchester United tonight.

The bright blue seats are riveted to the concrete terracing of the ground and officials say they cannot be ripped out and thrown - but they have only been installed in the section the English fans will be sitting in.

The home support's end of the ground still has normal plastic seats which are easy to kick over and are often used as missiles.

The previous two matches in Rome between the clubs have been marred by violence with several fans being injured and arrested.

Last April, at the same quarter-final stage of the Champions' League, there were horrific scenes as baton-wielding Italian police repeatedly charged United fans.

The English supporters were also attacked with a hail of missiles - including seats - which were thrown at them by Roma fans while police looked on.

Seventeen fans needed hospital treatment after having knife wounds to the buttocks - a trademark of Roma's notorious Ultras.

The wound is not lethal but painful and embarrassing and usually carried out with the attacker on a scooter.

In the most recent match last December, four United fans were arrested, charged and sentenced to two and a half years jail in a fast-track court hearing.

One of the four, Kyle Dillon, who is registered blind, was recently moved to solitary confinement after his mother Janet Dillon sent him photographs of the jail and surrounding countryside.

Mrs Dillon said: ''I just hope there are no problems as Kyle has an appeal hearing in May and if there is trouble it won't help him.

''He is coping well but has been in solitary confinement after I sent him some photographs of the jail.

''They thought he was planning an escape - maybe I should not have done it but he's blind and can't see long distance so I just wanted him to see what was outside.

''All he is guilty of is being in the wrong place at the wrong time and now he is in prison because he followed his favourite club abroad.''

Mrs Dillon, who is from Manchester, added that Roma fans had agreed to support a proposal from United fans to hold banners up at the game highlighting the case.

The banners will be in English and Italian and bear the slogan ''United for Justice.''

Doncaster Rovers - Leeds United - 01/04/2008

Source : Doncaster Today

Nine arrests at derby clash

NINE people were arrested at the Keepmoat last night as Rovers lost 1-0 to Leeds United.

Police say that other than some disorder in the ground after Leeds scored the clash passed without serious incident.

Some 230 police officers from across South Yorkshire backed up with some drafted in from North Yorkshire were on patrol in the town from 2pm yesterday.

Mounted officers and dog handlers were involved and a contingent from British Transport Police was on duty at the railway station.

Eight people were arrested in the Keepmoat's south stand and one in the north stand.

Superintendent Richard Tweed said: "The match passed without serious incident and the operation ran smoothly. Football fans had a safe and enjoyable evening."

Blackpool football fans banned for homophobic chanting - 02/04/2008

Source : LGF

Nine football supporters have been banned from watching games at Blackpool Football club after they used homophobic and racist chants during a game with Preston North End.

Club officials made the disciplinary step after receiving complaints from members of the public who heard the chanting while listening to the Lancashire derby match.

Complaints from supporters of both the teams poured in to a BBC Radio Lancashire phone-in, with many callers saying they were “angry” at some of the chants heard during the game.

It is believed that Blackpool fans made racist chants regarding the large numbers of Asian people who live in Preston and Preston fans retaliated by chanting homophobic anthems towards Blackpool supporters.

Lancashire Police also arrested two people during the football game held on March 15 on suspicion of a racial public order offence.

Club secretary Matt Williams said the club was taking the matter seriously and would not tolerate and kind of homophobic or racist chanting.

He said: "We don't want it, there is no place in society for it - let alone at a football match."

"We're fully behind the Let's Kick Racism out of Football campaign and our manager Simon Grayson is a patron of the Show Racism the Red Card scheme.

Blackpool chairman Karl Oyston told BBC Radio Lancashire: "It's wrong and people have to be told it's wrong.

"We've tried through programme articles and PA announcements on matchdays to point out that this behaviour is unacceptable and won't be tolerated."

"I don't condone them at all, but you hear these sorts of chants all the time at football matches."

AS Roma - Manchester United - 01/04/2008

Source : Independent

Trouble avoided after carabinieri clampdown

Four Roma fans were arrested in central Rome prior to last night's Champions League quarter-final, but fears of a repeat of the violence that has blighted earlier United-Roma games in the past year were not fulfilled. Asked to produce identification by police the four responded physically and were taken to a police station for questioning.

By the start of play there had been no serious trouble between 3,800 United fans who flew to Rome for the game and the 78,000-plus Roma fans who packed the city's Stadio Olimpico for the crucial match. There was an unparalleled level of security, with more than 1,400 police, uniformed and plain-clothes, on duty in and around the ground and a ban on sales of alcohol in force across much of the city. If the aftermath of the game is equally peaceable the authorities on both sides will heave a sigh of relief.

In last year's quarter final between the two sides here, three United fans were stabbed and 11 needed hospital treatment. Twenty-one Manchester fans were arrested during the return game in Manchester, and when the two teams met again in Rome in December, four United fans were charged and convicted of crimes of violence and are still in jail, serving two and a half year sentences. Last night's match came at a delicate moment for Italian football. A Parma fan was run over and killed on Sunday at a motorway service area, leading to the cancellation of the Juventus-Parma game he was travelling to see. It was a reminder of the incident last November when a Lazio fan was shot dead by a policeman at another service area, which prompted rioting outside the Stadio Olimpico, which Roma share with Lazio.

The hard-core Italian fans known as Ultras have gained a ferocious reputation in recent years, and several fans of Real Madrid were stabbed here in February, and their buses stoned. For visiting British fans the often heavy-handed tactics of Italian carabinieri and police are the other factor to fear. Dozens of United fans were injured by police baton charges inside the Olympic stadium last year. Despite laying down the law in and around the ground, the Italian authorities have declined to be held accountable for incidents further afield, prompting an outburst by Uefa communications director William Gaillard.

"The police say they cannot control the city and that is not satisfactory," he said before the game. "If we see a repeat of what we have seen so far it may be wise to move the 2009 Champions League final from Rome. Knifings are attempted murder. We cannot be held hostage by a few criminals."


Manchester United fans shout at rival Roma supporters in the Stadio Olimpico last night

PSG: NET CLOSING ON BANNER CULPRITS - 02/04/2008

Source : Sportinglife.com

French interior minister Michele Alliot-Marie has revealed the Paris St Germain supporters who unfurled a discriminatory banner at the Coupe de la Ligue final are close to being caught.

An investigation has been opened into the incident, which saw a banner on display for around five minutes during Saturday's game which read "Paedophiles, unemployed, inbreeding, welcome to the North".

The message hijacked the name of a film which is currently out in France, called 'Welcome to the North', and was aimed directly at the people of Lens - PSG's opponents in the final.

There has been widespread condemnation of the banner, with even French president Nicolas Sarkozy calling for firm sanctions against the guilty parties.

Alliot-Marie insists that investigators are closing in on the supporters involved.

"We are in the process of identifying them," she told Canal Plus.

"It will all be finished in the days to come and that will allow us to question these people and put them before justice.

"The video images, the scrutiny of fingerprints and DNA tests on the cuts of the banner recovered in the stand are being used in this inquiry."

Alliot-Marie added that as well as penal sanctions, the supporters involved will be hit with "extra punishments, like stadium bans".

Sarkozy on Tuesday welcomed Lens president Gervais Martel, as well as the club's coach Jean-Pierre Papin and the city's deputy-mayor Guy Delcourt, to the Elysee Palace to discuss the incident.

Bernard Laporte, the former head coach of France's rugby union team who is now minister for sport, was also in attendance.

Martel said: "I said to Nicolas Sarkozy that this scourge on us was dramatic for the whole of our sport, for amateur football and for all the kids who play it.

"He replied that he will have to act with firmness. He asked Bernard Laporte to think seriously about the level of punishment that will be applied."

Laporte added: "We are going to toughen up the law. We have to put an end to this violence by unfortunately making the most of this affair to hit (offenders) hard.

"At the moment, troublemakers risk a three-month stadium ban but that is a farce. We have to punish them financially and in the courts."

There will be extra security in place at PSG's match against Strasbourg at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.

PSG fans

Slavia, Sparta football hooligans accused - 03/04/2008

Source : Prague Daily Monitor

Twenty-one football fans who took part in riots at the Monday football match between Slavia and Sparta have been accused, the iDNES.cz news site reports. Two stand accused of assaulting a police officer. Preliminary estimates place total damage at CZK 500,000. Some 500 stadium seats have been ripped out, the public restrooms have been damaged and so has the stadium fence. A group of hooligans also damaged a tram in Podolí.
Much of the rioting took place right before the match, as fans entered the arena. The game also had to be interrupted several times, when isolated riots broke out in different parts of the stadium.

Police say only a small proportion of the 16,205 fans who attended the match, which ended in a 1-1 tie and left Slavia and Sparta's first and second positions in the League contest unchanged, were responsible for the mayhem.

Twenty-six people were arrested at the stadium Monday, iDNES.cz reported. Five were released, having only committed a misdemeanour. Another 16 were accused of disorderly conduct, and two of them were also accused of assaulting an officer. The remaining five are being investigated over a riot they instigated in a car dealership in Prague 5.

A total of 600 police officers intervened at the event. One suffered injuries from the hot smoke from a flare, according to iDNES.cz . Four volunteer firefighters have also sustained minor injuries, as have 16 fans. Most of the injuries came from flares and police batons.

The daily Mladá fronta Dnes reported Wednesday that security personnel at the stadium failed to do their job properly. An MfD reporter saw people carrying in flares and bottles through the turnstiles at the entrance.

Many fans are criticising the behaviour of the police, saying it was the police that instigated most of the violence.

Prague police spokeswoman Iva Knolová dismissed these claims. "Our reaction was adequate to the situation," she told iDNES.cz. "Radical fans were setting clothing on fire, setting off flares and destroying the seats and throwing them on the playing field." Knolová added that police expect to accuse more fans, based on reports by plainclothes officers, who took part in the Sparta fans' march from Letná to Strahov. She said many of the fans were shouting racist slogans.

The Football Association of the Czech Republic (ČMFS) said it was dismayed by "the show of vandalism, violence and racial and inter-club hatred" at the match and that it would discuss the incident at its next meeting, iDNES.cz said.

But Sparta and Slavia players seemed to agree that the rioting wasn't so bad. "It resembled New Year's fireworks, but aside from that I would commend the fans," Sparta defender Michal Kadlec told iDNES.cz. "The atmosphere was fantastic."


Both Sparta and Slavia fans were involved in the brawl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHFh3v2tGqo&feature=related

http://aktualne.centrum.cz/video/?id=191466

http://fotbalzive.ct24.cz/video.asp?video_id=2662

Czech federation seeks English-style anti-hooligan laws - 02/04/2008

Source : World Soccer News.com

The Czech football federation said Wednesday that it is urgently seeking tough English-style anti-hooligan laws following an outbreak of violence at a top of the table clash between Prague's biggest clubs.

"We are looking for broad political support to adopt a Czech version of the 'English model' as quickly as possible," the Czech and Moravian Football Federation (CMFS) said in a statement published after a meeting between its leaders and lawmakers.

The meeting was called in haste following violent scenes at the stadium during Monday's game between league leader Slavia Prague and its long standing rival, second-placed Sparta Prague, the statement added.

Police detained 26 people after the game was halted for around 10 minutes during the second half when violence erupted in the stands.

"We want to prevent a situation where measures are taken in haste on the basis of perhaps horrific events at one of our stadiums, such as in England years ago," the federation added.

The British government enacted tough laws in the 1980s to counter football stadium violence which culminated in the Heysel tragedy where 39 people died at the Brussels stadium during the 1985 European Cup finals between Liverpool and Juventus. Racist chants were, for example, banned by law in 1991.

As well as legislation, closed-circuit cameras were introduced at grounds and all-seat stadium introduced to help stamp out hooliganism.

*************************************************************

Source : CTK

Law on football hooliganism to also address sale of beer during games

While many European countries have been dealing with football violence for decades, in the Czech Republic it is a relatively recent phenomenon, one of the more unwelcome imports which followed the fall of the Communist system. Now legislators are preparing a new law to combat the problem. Jan Obst is the chairman of the Czech Football Association:

We do need to amend the Czech legal system, but what we also have to do is make sure that all our clubs make use of already existing methods of co-operating with the police and local authorities."
Just last weekend police were met with a hail of broken seats and other missiles during a game between Ostrava and Brno, while the most notorious case of Czech football violence in recent times saw a drunken fan running on to the pitch and attacking a linesman during a match at Prague club Bohemians.
The Czech Republic's national team are taking part in Euro 2004 in Portugal in the summer, and Czech police will be there too, keeping would-be Czech hooligans in line. Here's Deputy Interior Minister Miroslav Koudelny.

Czech police would not actually intervene if there is any trouble. But they know the hooligans, they speak the same language, obviously, and what they'll mostly be doing will be co-ordinating with the local police and organisers of Czech groups."
Getting back to football stadiums in the Czech Republic, unlike in many European countries, beer is sold during games at almost all clubs. That even though it is illegal. By the way, the league is also sponsored by a beer company, Gambrinus. Czech FA chief Jan Obst draws a distinction between stronger 12 degree beer and weaker 10 degree beer, saying the latter is part of the 'football experience'.
"I strongly believe that the current law - which was introduced in 1989, just before Communism ended - banning the sale of even 10 degree beer achieves nothing whatsoever. We've been working with MPs on the new law, which would allow 10 degree beer to be sold legally at football stadiums."
That new law, due to include lifetime bans for convicted hooligans, should be introduced sometime later this year.

Blow for jailed Reds fans - 03/04/2008

Source : Manchester Evening News

THE government has refused to intervene in the case of a Manchester United fan jailed in Italy for violent behaviour.

Michael Burk, of Little Hulton, was one of four fans locked up after being arrested in December following a clash between United and Roma fans.

Burk, 35, is due to appeal against his two-year five-month sentence next month and his MP, Barbara Keeley raised the issue in the Commons, urging Foreign Office ministers to intervene.

The Foreign Office minister Jim Murphy accepted there were concerns but said the government could not interfere with the appeal.

He said: "It will be frustrating, but it would be wrong for a government minister to say that they will interfere in a court proceeding in another country."

He said the Foreign Office would step in if there were complaints about ill-treatment.

"But we cannot seek preferential treatment on the basis of their nationality," said Mr Murphy.

Leeds United hooligan chased TV cameraman - 04/04/2008

Source : Yorkshire Evening Post

A RAGING football hooligan who chased after a TV cameraman has been handed a four year football banning order.

Nicholas Marsh raised his fist and turned on the cameraman outside Elland Road after the Leeds United versus Millwall game last November.

The match which Leeds won 4-2 was overshadowed by trouble from hooligans from both sides, including Millwall yobs who smashed out the windows of a number of buses.

The unnamed victim was part of a camera crew making a documentary about CCTV and how it helps protect the public and the police.

He was filming a crowd of Leeds hooligans who'd gathered in Wesley Street waiting for Millwall fans who were still inside the ground.

But the cameraman ended up shooting footage of Marsh, who has two previous convictions for football related disorder, as the burly six-footer ran after him.

Despite filming the incident, West Yorkshire still had to go to Crown Court to get a judge to order the film company to hand over the footage before bringing the prosecution.

At Leeds Magistrates' Court yesterday (Thurs, Apr 3] Marsh, of St Mary's Road, Doncaster, was handed a four year Football Banning Order.

District Judge Christopher Darnton QC said: "I find it extremely hard to believe that at 39 years of age you should behave in such a basically immature manner.

"Why can't you go and watch the football match and then go home?

"You were on the brink of an immediate custodial sentence. There was a time in these courts that somebody with your record would immediately loose your liberty."

But Mr Darnton said he would spare Marsh, the boss of a painting and decorating firm, jail and added: "That's to save your house, your future and your family."

Marsh, who had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to threatening behaviour with intent, was also handed a 12 month community order and ordered to do 180 hours' unpaid work and pay £40 costs.

Stuart Field, defending, said his client had been going to Elland Road for 32 years since he was a boy.

On the day of the incident Marsh admitted he raised his fist but "there was never any intension to strike" and that police had seized him because he was "noticeable figure" due to his size and blond hair.

Marsh is now banned from going to any football match in England and Wales and any international matches involving England.

He is also subject to various conditions during any match involving Leeds United including not being within a one-mile radius of Elland Road during home games, three hours before and two hours after kick-off.

Three other Leeds hooligans appeared at the same court on charges related to the same match.

David Marshall, 19, of Foxhill Court, Adel, Leeds, pleaded guilty to threatening behaviour and was given a three year FBO, a 12 month community order and 140 hours unpaid community service. He was ordered to pay £40 costs.

Mark Edward Forder, 24, of Larkhill Green, Chapeltown, Leeds, pleaded guilty to assaulting steward and pitch invasion. His case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report (PSR) until April 23.

Jonathan Paul Starkey, 34, of Torre Mount, Burmantofts, Leeds, pleaded guilty to assaulting a steward. A charge of pitch invasion was left on the file and the case adjourned for a PSR until April 23.


Nicholas Marsh

FANS ASKED TO KEEP OFF THE PITCH - 04/04/2008

Source : Yorkshire Evening Post

Roberto Martinez is urging Swansea City fans to celebrate with the players if and when they clinch promotion - by staying off the pitch.Swansea look destined to clinch a place in the Championship in the next couple of weeks.

And Martinez is keen to avoid a repeat of the scenes which marred Swansea's last promotion success at Bury in 2005.

Back then fans ignored pleas to stay off the Gigg Lane playing surface, and then Swansea keeper Willy Gueret was arrested for reacting as the police stepped in.

"I'm not taking anything for granted here," Martinez said.

"But if the situation where we clinch promotion arises, I'd love to see a controlled celebration where the players can celebrate properly with the fans.

"If people run onto the pitch things can end very quickly. The police get involved and I hope we can learn from what happened last time we went up.

"I understand there will be a lot of emotion if we can win promotion, but if we are controlled I can promise the fans they will get a chance to celebrate together with the players."

Swansea could go up tomorrow if they beat Bournemouth and Doncaster lose at Huddersfield.

There would still be two games to come at the Liberty with the League One title on the line.

"The pitch needs to remain in good condition," said a Swansea spokesman, "and we don't want to damage it at any time because it could cost the club up to £1million.

"Anyone who runs onto the pitch risks a three-year ban from all football grounds and they would also be spoiling the occasion for others.

"The players want to do a lap of honour if and when they get promoted, but they will only do it if the fans stay off the pitch."

France: Clermont - Montpellier - 04/04/2008

Source : Mail (thx to the sender !)

Fight erupted outside and inside the stadium between cops who used cs-gas and Montpellier fans. Five of them were arrested.




*************************************************************

Source : Press

Brazil: Futsal Flare-Up - 06/04/2008

Source : Glasgow Sunday Mail

VIOLENCE also erupted in Brazil last week in the unlikeliest of places - a futsal match.

The small-sided game is supposed to be about fun and fancy footwork.

But things got out of hand when Palmeiras and Corinthians clashed in the Sao Paulo state final.

Fans laid into each other with the score at 1-1. The barney spilled on to the pitch and police used pepper spray and weapons to stop the mayhem.

Nine punters were arrested and two officers injured before the match was abandoned. Maybe that's why the SPL won't bring back the Tennent's Sixes.

Three PSG fans charged over banner - 06/03/2008

Source : AFP

Three Paris Saint Germain supporters were on Friday charged with “provoking hate or violence during a sporting event” after a controversial banner insulting a rival team and its fans was unfurled at the French League Cup final.

A judge banned them from attending matches during their bail period and also meeting with other supporters, said a judicial source.

One fan admitted transporting and helping to show off the banner which aimed insults at fans of Lens who lost the match at the Stade de France last weekend. Two others recognised being involved in the manufacture and transport of the banner.

Punishments possible are a year in prison, a 15,000-euro fine and a three-year stadium ban.

*************************************************************

Source : L'Equipe

145 fans were injured before and during the game. Very violent clash erupted between PSG fans and the police.

Over 2,500 European Police to Assist Euro 2008 Hosts - 06/04/2008

Source : Deutsche Welle

Germany will send the largest single contingent of foreign police officers to Austrian and Switzerland during the European Championship this June to help keep unruly fans in line.

About 1,700 German police officers will be made available during 2008 European Championships, 850 in each of the host countries, Austria's Interior Minister Guenter Platter said at a press conference in Vienna earlier this week.

In Austria, the German police will be allowed to make arrests, while other foreign officers will serve a supervisory function, he said.

France will send the second largest contingent, 750 officers to Switzerland. Croatia will provide 31 officers, Poland 25, Sweden 15, Greece 12, and Russia and Spain 11 each.

Austria to lift Schengen privileges

Platter also said that passport-free travel, allowed for by the Schengen agreement, would be intermittently suspended during the championship, as was the case in Germany during the 2006 soccer World Cup. Switzerland is not yet a member of the Schengen zone.

"Ninety-nine percent of fans are peaceful, but we must nevertheless assume that there will be some troublemakers," said Platter.

The foreign reinforcements will lend support to Austria's 27,000 police, who have been given a vacation ban during the event, and the 31,200 police and soldiers that Switzerland will make available.

Three million spectators are expected to attend the soccer championship, which takes place in eight Swiss and Austrian cities from June 7 to 29.

Partizan - Zvezda - 05/04/2008

Source : Delije.net

Frankfurt - Nürnberg - 05/04/2008

Source : Goal.com + sport1.de

DFB To Investigate Firework Incident

The German Football Association has vowed to investigate yesterday's firework throwing incident that caused the Frankfurt Nürnberg match to be interrupted for twenty minutes.

The game that Nürnberg won 3-1 saw referee Peter Gagelmann take the players off the field for twenty minutes after the away fans threw a series of fireworks onto the pitch.

DFB vice-president Dr Rainer Koch told www.dfb.de: "It has already been announced that the events surrounding the break in the game in the first half will be included in the referee's report.

"Of importance for the investigations of the control committee which sits on Monday, is also the information from the relevant security authorities and experts."

Koch added that Eintracht Frankfurt could also face possible action for allowing the fireworks into the stadium.

"It is clear that the incidents will be judged under two aspects" he said.

"In the centre is of course the liability of Nürnberg for their supporters and their behaviour.

"A further question how the thrown fireworks could be brought into the stand whether therefore Frankfurt has possibly neglected their stewarding."



*************************************************************

Source : The Canadian Press

After fan violence nearly ends match, FC Nuremberg fears repercussions

BERLIN — FC Nuremberg faces a large fine and possible points deduction after its Bundesliga game Saturday against Eintracht Frankfurt almost ended in the first half due to fan violence.

A regional game was also marred by violence the same day, and police reported Sunday that more than 30 people were arrested at the two matches, which left eleven officers injured and numerous bystanders to hospital.

Visiting Nuremberg fans inside Frankfurt's Commerzbank Arena repeatedly tossed fireworks onto the field. Nuremberg beat Eintracht 3-1 in a contest stopped for 20 minutes and the match was close to joining just a handful in Bundesliga history to be cancelled by violence.

"If just one more rocket was thrown, I would have called off the game immediately," referee Peter Gagelmann said.

Fans were taken to the hospital after being hit by the firecrackers or complaining of ear drum damage. Police arrested 22 people.

On Monday, the German Soccer Federation will review the violence, which began before the match. Seven officers were hurt when Nuremberg fans flung fireworks from trains in the downtown station.

Clubs in the past have drawn hefty fines for similar incidents. If Nuremberg was docked points in the standings, that would be a real blow for a team one point from bottom.

"Naturally the thought goes through our heads," Nuremberg manager Martin Bader said. "We make an intensive effort to work with our fans, but there comes the time when you are helpless."

At Monday's review, Frankfurt will have to answer questions about why so many fireworks and dangerous weapons went undetected by controls at Commerzbank Arena.

Security guards found more than 100 weapons ranging from knives to tear gas on fans inside the stadium. Two men were arrested with what police described as "illegal objects."

"We have to review our security measures, so that we don't develop an environment like Italy has," said Heribert Bruchhagen, Frankfurt's board chairman.

1.FC Saarbrücken - FC 08 Homburg - 05/04/2008

Source : The Canadian Press

In the regional match, four officers were injured and 12 people arrested after a 1-1 draw between FC Saarbruecken and visiting FC Homburg. Police tried to stop 400 fans from vandalizing a construction site.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgCtDhtvqRM

Kettering Town - Telford United - 06/04/2008

Source : Fenland Today

Eleven arrested after trouble flares in town centre

FOOTBALL hooligans soured Kettering Town's promotion party as thugs caused problems in the town centre.
Eleven men were arrested after violence broke out in The Shire Horse at about 4.15pm on Saturday and police anticipate more arrests are imminent. Eight of the men are from Telford and the others from Kettering. They have all been released on police bail.

Shoppers also had to be evacuated from nearby stores and parts of the town were cordoned off by police.

It followed earlier skirmishes between fans in Britannia Road at about 2.15pm.

Det Insp Andy Nichols, of Northamptonshire Police, said: "We are carrying out a significant investigation into the incident in Britannia Road before kick off.

"We will be going through CCTV footage of the incident. I'm appealing for witnesses to the incident, which happened near to the Goody's Pub, to come forward.

"This was unacceptable behaviour on the part of a minority of so-called football fans."

Josh Drew-Batty, relief store supervisor of Wilkinson's in Newland Street, said customers were asked to leave the store at around 4.30pm.

He said: "The police informed us it was getting out of hand. There was no trouble in the store, it was just a precaution. We normally close at 6pm but we didn't open again – the police were being careful."

Iceland also shut its doors at about the same time.

Paul Flynn, landlord of The Shire Horse in Newland Street, confirmed there had been trouble and that his pub had been damaged.
**********************************************************
Source: BBC

Football fans bailed after clash

Eleven people arrested following clashes between rival football fans have been released on police bail.

Fighting broke out in the centre of Kettering, Northamptonshire, before and after Kettering Town's match against Telford United on Saturday afternoon.

Three men from the Kettering area, seven from Shropshire and one from Birmingham were arrested. They were bailed until June.

Police say more arrests are likely as CCTV images of the fight are examined.

'Significant investigation'

Violence flared in Britannia Road prior to the Blue Square North league fixture and disorder also broke out at the Shire Horse pub in Newland Street after the match.

Det Insp Andy Nichols said: "We are carrying out a significant investigation and are confident that we can bring these offenders to justice.

"I am appealing for witnesses to the incidents to come forward - this was unacceptable behaviour on the part of a minority of so-called football fans."

Kettering Town won the match 3-0.
*********************************************************
Source: http://www.northantset.co.uk

More details on football fan arrests in Kettering

Police have revealed further details of the 11 men arrested following clashes between rival football fans in Kettering.
Northamptonshire Police also said further arrests were likely following the disorder prior to and during Kettering Town's 3-0 win over Telford United on Saturday.

A police spokesman confirmed details of the men detained after clashes in Kettering town centre.

Three of the men - aged 41, 37 and 21 - were from Kettering.

Also arrested was a 45-year-old man from Birmingham and two men - aged 22 and 17 - from Shifnal, Shropshire.

The remaining five men are all from Telford, Shropshire, and are aged 22, 20, 19, 17 and 16.

They have all been bailed pending further inquiries and will report back to Kettering police in June.

Violence flared in Britannia Road prior to the Blue Square North fixture at about 2.15pm and disorder also broke out at the Shire Horse pub in Newland Street at 4.15pm.

Detective Inspector Andy Nichols said CCTV footage of the first incident was being studied by officers.

"We are carrying out a significant investigation and are confident that we can bring these offenders to justice," the officer said.

"I am appealing for witnesses to the incidents to come forward - this was unacceptable behaviour on the part of a minority of so-called football fans."

OFI Heraklion - Panathinaikos - 06/04/2008

Source : media.feed.gr

CATANIA FANS BANNED - 08/04/2008

Source : Sportinglife.com

Catania fans have been banned from travelling to Saturday's Sicilian derby at Palermo due to fears over public safety.

The independent body that monitors Italian soccer hooliganism, L'Osservatorio nazionale sulle manifestazione sportive, have banned all Catania supporters from attending the Serie A encounter at La Favorita.

L'Osservatorio have stepped up their security measures following the death last month of Parma fan Matteo Bagnaresi, who was accidentally run over by a coach designated for Juventus supporters ahead of a match in Turin.

Last year, a league fixture between Catania and Palermo ended in tragedy when police officer Filippo Raciti died during fighting between fans outside the Angelo Massimino Stadium - an incident that led to the suspension of domestic games by the Italian authorities.

Polish football's racism problem - 07/04/2008

Source : BBC sports

Racism may never be fully eradicated from football, but what I found during an investigation into the problem in Poland was truly shocking.

And this in the country that will co-host the 2012 European Football Championship.

I found racism that was strident and in your face in a way it never was in Britain, even in the very bad old days of English football in the 1970s and 80s.

Then, as one of the regular football reporters at the Sunday Times, I spent my Saturdays at football matches and had several first-hand experiences of racism.

Much of it was very unpleasant. But in Poland it was on a different, deeper and much nastier level.

In a street in central Warsaw, not far from the hotel where I was staying, there was a lot of graffiti about 'white power' and the Ku Klux Klan, all associated with the city's main team Legia Warsaw.

And this wasn't the only place where the problem was evident.

One evening, as myself, my cameraman and producer were going about central Warsaw filming our piece for Inside Sport, we were approached by a skinhead who said he was a Legia fan and made it clear that he was a racist and keen to broadcast his view.

As I interviewed him he told me to go back to my country, meaning India, the land of my birth. He would not look me in the eye as we spoke and at the end of my interview, refused to shake my hand.

He may have been an exhibitionist and, I must stress, Polish passers by were embarrassed by what he said and tried to distance themselves from him.

But talking to many people, including those running football in Poland, he did not seem untypical of a certain section of Polish fans.

Indeed, the president of Legia Warsaw, Leszek Miklas, an impressive and honest man, readily admitted that 15-20% of his club's fans were neo-Nazis.

Legia are banned from Europe because of the violence of their fans. His explanation for such deep-seated racism was that Poles are not used to seeing people of different colours or cultures in their country.

Perhaps the most chilling example of how embedded racism is in Polish football was when I met Jacek Pulski of Never Again, the Polish equivalent of Kick it Out.

We had agreed to meet in the Stalin-built Palace of Culture and Science in central Warsaw, where I expected his offices to be located.

No he said, he did not have his office there or anywhere else in Warsaw. Partly through lack of funding but, more importantly, if they had an office, Jacek was fearful it would be a firebomb target for racists.

We then spent some time driving round Warsaw to find a cafe where we could talk in peace.

He showed me photographs taken during Polish football matches in the last two years where brazen images of neo-Nazi symbols had been displayed.

This not only included the White Legion banner of the infamous skinheads of Legia Warsaw but, most chillingly, a picture of away fans in a lower division league match forming a human swastika in the stands.

He then told me the story of the black player who had been hospitalised by a third division club's supporters, despite scoring two goals. And all because they did not want an Afro-Caribbean in their side.

He told me that I, because of my brown skin, would not be safe in more than two or three grounds in Poland.

I was made very welcome at Legia Warsaw. But there were areas of the ground I was told I could not go into because of the colour of my skin.

This was confirmed when I met Dixon Choto, the Zimbabwean international who plays for Legia Warsaw.

Before meeting him I had spent some time watching his team-mates train. This could have been a training session anywhere - people of different colours united by football.

But, as we walked round the stadium, he pointed to a stand where his friends and family were not welcome because of the colour of their skin.

He also told me I should not go there as I would not be safe. He also said he had his share of monkey chants and bananas being tossed at him. This happened more at away matches now.

Worse still, he said when he reacted to such racism on the field of play, Polish football authorities called him to a disciplinary hearing, where the opposition manager said he did not hear the chants, despite being heard loud and clear by Dixon's wife, who was at home watching on television.

I went to a Legia Warsaw home match at the Polish Army Stadium, where the team fielded black players without any visible problems, although I was not able to go anywhere near the stand, which takes up a whole side of the ground, where the 'ultras' gather.

Before the match I had been to a bar near the ground where the hardcore supporters meet.

It was made clear by some fans, who feared for my safety and that of my crew, I should leave.

I managed to speak to these moderate fans who did not deny that racism existed but insisted that Poland was not alone in having this scourge.

So what does this mean for 2012?

Dixon told me frankly that Poland was not ready to host Euro 2012. Pulski agreed, although he hoped the tournament would highlight the issue and help the country tackle its racism problem.

Polish competition organisers accept there is a problem at league level, but say national team supporters do not display racist behaviour, despite photographic evidence I was shown that suggested the contrary.

They are confident that 2012 will pass without incident.

Poland needs heavy financial investment to get its infrastructure ready for 2012. The Polish media are already expressing worries about how this will be done.

But tackling such deep-seated racism in time to welcome a Europe of all colours may be much more difficult than building roads and stadia.