| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley 12:32 - Jul 15 with 9314 views | thame_hoops |
Not sure if anyone else here went but thought id share my experience on what was one of my worst experiences at a sports event ever.
Got a call from a mate (who know someone at the FA) that they had a spare ticket £85, whilst I was at the Wimbledon men's final. took him up on the offer, as soon as Djokovic won, I headed to Wembley.
On the way to the tennis (left princes Risborough 11am) the train was full of England fans, all in good humour, no trouble, good atmosphere on the tube to Southfields etc.
On route to Wembley, the mood had changed completely. Drunken idiots hurling abuse at women and children on the jubilee line, never seen anything like it. Got to Wembley around 6:30pm and it was rammed solid, shoulder to shoulder, people pushing, barging their way though. fights amongst fans, children crying. it was horrific. Stewards checking your covid pass and tickets at the first hurdle before you were let up the gangways (outside the stadium and no phone signal to open the app so screenshots had to do)
England fans threatening stewards to let them past, and it worked. I saw one guy telling a young steward "if you dont let me though I'll F*** you up with a knife" the poor kid was terrified. I saw grown men giving cash to stewards to be let them through this first hurdle as well as people storming through in groups (you would have all seen the videos)
Got my ticket scanned with some weird pen on the QR code and let in, the guy said "its nice to see someone with a ticket) and went through airport style security.
Once inside the ground on level 1 it was carnage. Fighting, stewards chasing people, people who i assume had tickets were stickling out legs to try and trip over people who were running, children in tears again. i saw 3 stewards on top of a fan who'd fallen over, they started to kick the sh*t out of him while he was on the floor. other fans joined in.
In the toilets i saw a man try pick a fight with a guy who had his 8yr old kid with him. Staff at the merchandise stalls we saying there are literally hundreds of fans without tickets (5k was later confirmed in the media), one guy opened up a fire escape for the them to rush in. We heard of stewards taking £200 cash from people to admit them straight in. I hope the police go back and check cctv to catch the b*stards.
Once we got to to our seats, right behind the goal, block 113, I noticed the gangways were filling up of people standing, stewards all stood around them not moving them on, it was obvious they didn't have tickets. what stuck me was there was very little police present, I have seen more on south Africa road for a game vs Preston.
The atmosphere was completely toxic throughout, i couldn't enjoy the game with this distraction and worrying how id get out, i have never seen anything like it in my life and it has put me off ever going to an England game again.
At the end of the game, the Italian players ran to our corner to celebrate and it caused a surge in idiots running down to try confront them. i saw bottles thrown, lighters, mobile phones, whatever they could get was thrown. a man climbed up and started ripping down a TV microphone, the lady along from my was scared rigid (she works for the FA and was still very upset this morning according to my mate)
We stayed in seats for a while to let the crowds disperse, in the foyer was a Leicester fan really upset that he wasn't allowed to collect his flag, he said it cost £500 and the stewards started to man-handle him (after he was getting aggressive) while 2 police stood and watched.
Just wanted to air my experience, sorry to go on, i think this has really dented our chances for 2030.
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 16:50 - Jul 15 with 2591 views | BklynRanger |
Seriously depressing reading. Must have been a total nightmare for yourselves let alone anyone trying to bring their kids or partner to that.
I'm going to sound like a judgemental old vvanker here, but the thing that gets me is the total lack of self-respect and basic decency involved in some of the behaviour that created that.
I can almost understand the motives behind some people trying to sneak in, with ticket prices that high and all those empty seats, but without some kind of moral code behind it it's just scum behaviour - i.e. if you want to try to beat/defraud the system that's on you, but the pissing, fighting, harassing, endangering, and generally fcuking the place and the occasion up is inexcusable from very angle imho. |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 17:09 - Jul 15 with 2529 views | Rs_Holy |
Just found out that my daughters boyfriend has today tested positive for Covid… he was at the game with a legitimate ticket… Pretty big coincidence if he didn’t catch it at Wembley. |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 17:15 - Jul 15 with 2502 views | EastR |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 14:48 - Jul 15 by Boston |
Tickets, we don’t need no stinking tickets! |
no ticky, no laundry |  |
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 17:18 - Jul 15 with 2495 views | TheChef |
Really quite bizarre, especially given the good experiences people had at Wembley for the Denmark and Germany games.
Hate to say it but it almost sounds like wilful negligence on the part of the organisers. |  |
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 18:13 - Jul 15 with 2405 views | kernowhoop |
We ask how it happened and we blame the police and the stewarding system. But, they did not cause the problems. Our fellow 'fans' did. Why do people behave like that? What should be done? | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 18:18 - Jul 15 with 2397 views | RangersDave |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 13:45 - Jul 15 by BAWHoops |
What's mad is that this sounds so different to the Germany and Denmark games which were two of the greatest football experiences I've ever had!
Wembley way was like a party those days. people singing and enjoying themselves and felt like a real community. Everyone excited and grateful to be there.
Covid checks took place, tickets checks took place... the whole lot.
How could they have got it so wrong for the final |
But as far as being a reasonable ground, its a bit of a pig in a poke stadium nowadays. how the hell did any one get permission to practically enclose the ground with tightly packed buildings?
The old wembley was much easier to get in and out, especially if you dog legged through the old sunday market site.
To me the place looks and feels like a safety issue waiting to go pop. |  |
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 18:26 - Jul 15 with 2377 views | essextaxiboy |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 13:37 - Jul 15 by Logman |
My goodness. Add the racism into that and it seems that football is going backwards. The legacy of the Euro's is poor, in my opinion. The FA need to get the drunken yobs playing the game at grass roots level and not simply just drinking and then watching the games (I use the term 'watching' loosely as many are incapable of that). Can't see things changing though while money and consumerism dictate things. |
Football isnt going backwards, money and consumerism dictate things in the Premier League and our own division but these things dont happen there.
Most of us here drink and then watch the games and dont behave like that . |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:09 - Jul 15 with 2253 views | kernowhoop |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 18:26 - Jul 15 by essextaxiboy |
Football isnt going backwards, money and consumerism dictate things in the Premier League and our own division but these things dont happen there.
Most of us here drink and then watch the games and dont behave like that . |
"Most of us here drink and then watch the games and dont behave like that ."
So true. But, why do 'they' behave like that and what can be done? | | | |
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:26 - Jul 15 with 2223 views | Hunterhoop |
I should add that I did still enjoy the match and a lot of the day. Certainly no sympathy needed or deserved. As a good few hours in the pub with mates, was lucky with those nearby in the stands, was really close to the pitch and it was an exciting, if very nervy game. Atmosphere in the first half, especially when the goal went it, was electric. And was at the end with the penalties. All experiences I’ll never forgot. It was just a gutting result and a very weird pre-game atmosphere abd situation at Wembley, as described.
Clearly the fans misbehaving deserve blame. But everyone knew England in a home final of a major tournament kicking off at 8pm on a Sunday, might result in a very large, very drunk crowd at Wembley. Add in that everyone knew there were 20-25k spare seats inside the stadium, and the behaviour seen shouldn’t have been that surprising. Doesn’t mean it should be accepted. But I can understand it. What I cannot comprehend is how badly and ill prepared both the stadium and the Met Police were. Far too few police, too few stewards, and flaws all over the place in terms of checkpoints and entry points. Perhaps the lack of trouble in the previous rounds caused some complacency and they thought they could just go again with similar numbers. But it was short sighted. They messed up and lost control. |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:42 - Jul 15 with 2181 views | EalingHoop81 |
I went to the game too.
I was sat in the upper tier. Even had we won the game I’m not sure that I would not regret going.
I didn’t see any violence to be fair. In part I think it’s due to having to use entrance 4 which is almost the opposite side to Olympic Way as perhaps less of the ticketless came in on that side because its quite a walk to get round there.
What I saw was a general lack of stewards. People were climbing the 10 ft wall to get through the first barrier of security. Most of them were young (teenagers/ early 20s) and seemed to be people who had come to either try and get in or soak up the atmosphere and realised they had a chance to get in. This could have been foreseen by the authorities and they should have had massive numbers of security personnel.
At entrance 4 people were just coming up around the queue and pushing it at the front which was causing tension given the the queue was around 400m deep. I asked a female steward why there weren’t stewards there stopping it and she tried but was one person on her own.
I got through the first barrier without being asked for my covid pass (ticket only). I assumed it may happen at the gate but no, it was still the standard electronic scanning process.
Inside the ground the mood was good, excited but no edge to it that I witnessed. What I did see was a complete and utter lack of and social distancing or masks being worn. It was supposed to be a covid secure environment. It was anything but. Think of any away game (that went well) in 2019 and you’ll be there. At half time everyone jumping, singing, throwing beer up excitedly and crowded.
Post game again I saw no violence or even a real edge. I was kettled down Olympic Way as is usual but I was surprised that we were not given space and split into bigger groups to allow there to be some space. I got the tube back to West Hampstead having gone through the 40 minutes of being kettled, shoulder to shoulder in the pouring rain, and then the Thameslink to Harpenden. It was a shocker. Think rush hour central line, face in arm pits or within inches of others faces, virtually no masks, some people singing others depressed.
I have now heard of lots of people at the game that have Covid.
My experience clearly sounds much better than others endured but I left thinking the organisation was a shocker. They should not have allowed the crowd to get so close to Wembley. An additional perimeter could have been made and a wider police presence outside of that with far more stewarding.
My ticket was expensive (a lot more than my season ticket!!) obtained through the UEFA website at the cost price. For that ticket price alone they could have paid for multiple numbers of stewards, ensured the covid protocols were followed etc, protected those with tickets and the Italian fans from the violence that later ensued. The organisers let everyone down through not fully assessing the risks form ticketless fans and breaking the covid protocols. Obviously the people who broke in and committed acts of violence are entirely to blame for their actions but it was avoidable. | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:50 - Jul 15 with 2156 views | PBLOCK |
As a younger lad in late 90’s early 2000’s I did a load of England games.
Had a great time so decided to do Euro 2000. Have done one England game since a friendly against Egypt I think.
England have some brilliant fans but they also have a lot of bell ends who ruin it for everyone. There is no excuse for the behaviour on Sunday. The fact is it is not necessarily an ‘English’ thing. How many times do you hear of the Barmy army at the cricket or the Rugby fans kicking off behaving in that way.
As a football nation unfortunately we have a lot of idiots who support us, it’s a small minority but it ruins it for the rest of us. Football for me is about the chat before the game going with friend and family and cheering the team on, yeah have a moan about how we played after but then we go home moan about it a few more times, repeat.
The idiot Chelsea fan who was snorting and shoving flares up his jaxi just makes me realise why we have such a poor reputation around the world when it comes to ‘English Football Fans’ when actually most are decent folk, it’s the minority spoiling it for the majority | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:52 - Jul 15 with 2152 views | Superhoops2808 |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:26 - Jul 15 by Hunterhoop |
I should add that I did still enjoy the match and a lot of the day. Certainly no sympathy needed or deserved. As a good few hours in the pub with mates, was lucky with those nearby in the stands, was really close to the pitch and it was an exciting, if very nervy game. Atmosphere in the first half, especially when the goal went it, was electric. And was at the end with the penalties. All experiences I’ll never forgot. It was just a gutting result and a very weird pre-game atmosphere abd situation at Wembley, as described.
Clearly the fans misbehaving deserve blame. But everyone knew England in a home final of a major tournament kicking off at 8pm on a Sunday, might result in a very large, very drunk crowd at Wembley. Add in that everyone knew there were 20-25k spare seats inside the stadium, and the behaviour seen shouldn’t have been that surprising. Doesn’t mean it should be accepted. But I can understand it. What I cannot comprehend is how badly and ill prepared both the stadium and the Met Police were. Far too few police, too few stewards, and flaws all over the place in terms of checkpoints and entry points. Perhaps the lack of trouble in the previous rounds caused some complacency and they thought they could just go again with similar numbers. But it was short sighted. They messed up and lost control. |
Did you see what was going on in other parts of London?
Are you aware that the police may also be affected by the ridiculous T&T issue that is happening across the country currently and wiping staff out to isolation?
Many on here have said that previous games have been like a party atmosphere and good natured so why would trouble all of a sudden be expected for this game?
I am sure the police don't have an infinite number of officers to send. I do find it difficult to understand that there are more excuses made for the drunken feral idiots that behaved as they did on Sunday night just because the event wasn't at full capacity. |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 21:16 - Jul 15 with 2105 views | Hunterhoop |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:52 - Jul 15 by Superhoops2808 |
Did you see what was going on in other parts of London?
Are you aware that the police may also be affected by the ridiculous T&T issue that is happening across the country currently and wiping staff out to isolation?
Many on here have said that previous games have been like a party atmosphere and good natured so why would trouble all of a sudden be expected for this game?
I am sure the police don't have an infinite number of officers to send. I do find it difficult to understand that there are more excuses made for the drunken feral idiots that behaved as they did on Sunday night just because the event wasn't at full capacity. |
Err…obviously not. I was at Wembley.
I’m also not responsible for policing London. And I know they don’t infinite resources; i’m not an idiot. All I can see is there was far too few police for the event and that I think they failed in their management of the event, as did Wembley Ops.
And why should/could you have predicted trouble? It was the final; it was on a weekend. It kicked off at 8pm. It meant thousands of fans were boozing all day, some all weekend. And it was THE game where you could have seen England lift their first major trophy since ‘66. People would want to be there! And everyone knew there were thousands of empty seats. You can’t compare to a weekday 8pm kick off at an earlier stage on the tournament. Well, you can’t, but you’d be stupid to.
And I am not giving any excuses for any fans’ behaviour. Far from it! I would much prefer that behaviour had not taken place. It was totally unforgivable BUT it was foreseeable. The police failed on that front by not having the resources to deal with it.
Are you clear on that. There are no excuses for the behaviour, but England fans have history, the behaviour was foreseeable so you manage it. I’ve been to enough football matches to know what to expect and I was more surprised by the lack of police numbers, the lack of checks, etc than anything else. That’s my experience and my thoughts from the day. | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 21:47 - Jul 15 with 2030 views | BlackCrowe |
There is utter vermin that follow football, and QPR have a small band of course (thankfully few in number). i really don't know why football is the sport that vermin attaches itself too, because it happens in no other sport. Unconcerned of the distress to others, of the collateral knock-on of their actions, Hillsborough, nothing. Just utter pondlife, the lowest of the low.
Karma will get them one hopes but that's later on alas. I'd like it to be now. |  |
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 22:29 - Jul 15 with 1973 views | stowmarketrange |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 20:50 - Jul 15 by PBLOCK |
As a younger lad in late 90’s early 2000’s I did a load of England games.
Had a great time so decided to do Euro 2000. Have done one England game since a friendly against Egypt I think.
England have some brilliant fans but they also have a lot of bell ends who ruin it for everyone. There is no excuse for the behaviour on Sunday. The fact is it is not necessarily an ‘English’ thing. How many times do you hear of the Barmy army at the cricket or the Rugby fans kicking off behaving in that way.
As a football nation unfortunately we have a lot of idiots who support us, it’s a small minority but it ruins it for the rest of us. Football for me is about the chat before the game going with friend and family and cheering the team on, yeah have a moan about how we played after but then we go home moan about it a few more times, repeat.
The idiot Chelsea fan who was snorting and shoving flares up his jaxi just makes me realise why we have such a poor reputation around the world when it comes to ‘English Football Fans’ when actually most are decent folk, it’s the minority spoiling it for the majority |
When I went to Australia for the ashes 4 years ago the only time the atmosphere was bad was on Saturdays play,when all the expat football fans would normally go and sing about 10 german bombers and no surrender.
I realised very quickly to find somewhere else to sit on those days.
I’ve also been to a few England rugby away games and the amount of alcohol drunk would surpass wembley on Sunday,but the fans seem to all get along together,and I’ve never witnessed any violence in 3 trips to Rome and 1 to Paris last year.I don’t think I’d ever be tempted to go to an England away football match,which is a shame really.
But some of our fans behave very similar at qpr away games,and the whole day for some includes too much beer and too much charlie,which then gives them the right to abuse their own fans for not singing loudly enough for them.And they’re the ones who rarely come back from the bar after half time. |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 22:53 - Jul 15 with 1936 views | davman |
So sad, sadly so typical. Really hard reading.
Always fascinates me that people blame the police and the stewards; so clearly its the culture and the general standard of the "Great British Public" that is the problem.
Apparently we should expect our police to take the abuse and violence because the game was held in the evening and what else is there to do during the day other than slamming alcohol and cocaine into your bodies? Putting up with such crap is their job after all, eh?
I'm for letting 'em loose and fighting back against any scumbag that acts unsociably at times like this, but I'm in the minority, clearly. Rather, we should start talking about defunding the police because (apparently) there are more scum in their ranks than there are in the outside world. Do me a f**king favour.
Until this is eradicated, I'm afraid we don't deserve a major football tournament in this country.
And, sorry, I don't believe this is a small minority. Maybe a minority, but it is a significant one - I am starting to get why other nations absolutely loath us as a country.
Genuinely really sad. [Post edited 15 Jul 2021 22:55]
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| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 23:19 - Jul 15 with 1891 views | CiderwithRsie |
FWIW the Police Federation guy was on the radio yesterday making the point that they are responsible for outside the stadium and Wembley for inside. His argument was that by the time the Police knew there was trouble inside it was too late for them as they were the "wrong side" of it.
Now, whatever the rights and workings of that are, it seems to me a basic problem if you have a demarcation line like that - someone needs to be in overall control and thinking the whole thing through. | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 23:36 - Jul 15 with 1869 views | PBLOCK |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 22:29 - Jul 15 by stowmarketrange |
When I went to Australia for the ashes 4 years ago the only time the atmosphere was bad was on Saturdays play,when all the expat football fans would normally go and sing about 10 german bombers and no surrender.
I realised very quickly to find somewhere else to sit on those days.
I’ve also been to a few England rugby away games and the amount of alcohol drunk would surpass wembley on Sunday,but the fans seem to all get along together,and I’ve never witnessed any violence in 3 trips to Rome and 1 to Paris last year.I don’t think I’d ever be tempted to go to an England away football match,which is a shame really.
But some of our fans behave very similar at qpr away games,and the whole day for some includes too much beer and too much charlie,which then gives them the right to abuse their own fans for not singing loudly enough for them.And they’re the ones who rarely come back from the bar after half time. |
Totally agree about Rangers having our own idiots who are coked up and pissed and wanna take on the world.
Had an incident away at Charlton a few years ago when some bloke started on me and his mate then waded in. All I had done apparently was look at them. The thing was I was with about 7/8 others and all of a sudden when they started calling it out they went from prime Mike Tyson to Audley Harrison
Absolute plebs | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 23:38 - Jul 15 with 1867 views | 80s_Boy |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 23:19 - Jul 15 by CiderwithRsie |
FWIW the Police Federation guy was on the radio yesterday making the point that they are responsible for outside the stadium and Wembley for inside. His argument was that by the time the Police knew there was trouble inside it was too late for them as they were the "wrong side" of it.
Now, whatever the rights and workings of that are, it seems to me a basic problem if you have a demarcation line like that - someone needs to be in overall control and thinking the whole thing through. |
Wembley has been a strange set up since the FA decided to get rid of the Police and use private security.
2 occasions stand out for me
England vs Poland in 2013 when there was a nasty atmosphere before the game with a number of large brawls in and around Wembley and yet the Police still didn't guess that there would be trouble in the ground. There was scuffles all round the stadium throughout the match with some stewards and security teams being beaten up and yet the Police still didn't come.
Millwall vs Wigan also in 2013 when fans of the former spent 10 minutes having a massive brawl before the Police decided it was time to come in only for the Millwall fans to stop fighting each other and attack the Police.
They then decided to let the Millwall fans 'run out of steam' and use CCTV and TV footage to identify people they wanted to arrest. |  | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 02:24 - Jul 16 with 1769 views | CLAREMAN1995 |
Thanks to everybody who was there sharing their experiences and it was so depressing and frightening to be honest .People paying huge money to enjoy an incredible occasion totally ruined by thugs is so frustrating and now stories of physical assaults and a Formula 1 driver getting mugged inside the sacred ground sickening.
I watched the game from the comfort of my living room with my family and enjoyed it (until Saka was saved) with no clue what was happening at Wembley so I find it just sad
Glad the couple of QPR posters had fun and got home safely . | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 10:46 - Jul 16 with 1455 views | kernowhoop |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 22:53 - Jul 15 by davman |
So sad, sadly so typical. Really hard reading.
Always fascinates me that people blame the police and the stewards; so clearly its the culture and the general standard of the "Great British Public" that is the problem.
Apparently we should expect our police to take the abuse and violence because the game was held in the evening and what else is there to do during the day other than slamming alcohol and cocaine into your bodies? Putting up with such crap is their job after all, eh?
I'm for letting 'em loose and fighting back against any scumbag that acts unsociably at times like this, but I'm in the minority, clearly. Rather, we should start talking about defunding the police because (apparently) there are more scum in their ranks than there are in the outside world. Do me a f**king favour.
Until this is eradicated, I'm afraid we don't deserve a major football tournament in this country.
And, sorry, I don't believe this is a small minority. Maybe a minority, but it is a significant one - I am starting to get why other nations absolutely loath us as a country.
Genuinely really sad. [Post edited 15 Jul 2021 22:55]
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It is deeply embarrassing. Also, depressing because there seems to be no quick fix. Even if the Thatcher government's idea about having to have a card to get admitted to matches were implemented, the ones who embarrass the rest of us would get cards. We would then suffer their moronic behaviour, until they were identified and excluded. Sadly, no quick fix. | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 11:38 - Jul 16 with 1374 views | willis1980 |
Everytime Ive been to England games there were what I felt pretty draconian rules in place in regards to drinking (i think Ive only been to matches on weekdays!). We would drink opposite Baker Str station but you couldnt buy beers in the shops as they were seemingly advised that they werent allowed to sell alcohol on matchdays between certain hours. Why didnt they attempt to limit the sale of alcohol for this game? Maybe they did and the system failed?
Weve all been to away days where getting a drink was hard work, being kettled into the ground etc.
How is it the country that often gets called in by others to show others how to run things got it so spectacularly wrong when it really mattered? Underfunding must play a part here somewhere.
At around 5pm I went to put petrol in the car and had to drive a little further afield as my local was closed to refuel, when I arrived at the BP it was full of riot police and helicopters overhead. You could cut the tension or nervous energy with a knife and this was 10miles from Wembley! | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 11:56 - Jul 16 with 1330 views | Logman |
Possibly, blokes being locked up for periods and unable to go to football on weekends was a contributing factor. But for me there is no excuse for it. I'm sure we've all been obnoxious or naughty at some points in our lives but the sustained aggression/violence, it needs to be eradicated and maybe the all day sales of booze needs to be curbed again. | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 12:05 - Jul 16 with 1309 views | Myke |
Is it just a football thing? It's certainly not just an English thing. Scottish fans embarrassed themselves in London this summer. Italian fans are capable of evil thuggery as Sean Cox will testify.
I can go to Croke Park with 79, 999 others on a Sunday afternoon for an All Ireland Final and feel safe. Small kids wearing their county jersey's are present. All along Jones Road en route there are boozed up fans, many who have 'made a weekend of it'. They are boisterous but good-humoured. I can wear my Galway top (my wife is from Galway) and sit beside someone wearing Tipperary/Kilkenny/Limerick or whatever, there is no segregation whatsoever. If I'm lucky, the person sitting beside me will be a good-looking young one, but even if it's an ugly old codger like myself, we will watch the game as it unfolds, cheering madly when our team scores , sitting quietly when the other team do.
NO BOOING. These games, between the top counties frequently go to the wire and the tension is palpable. At the end we watch the presentation of the cup together (even if 'opposing' fans) and listen to the speeches before all filing out together. The winning fans are in great form from the youngest to the oldest. Nobody is menacing, nobody feels threatened . Everybody appreciates the efforts their club has made. We go home and watch it all over again on TV.
I don't know why this is. Is it because officially Gaelic games are still an 'amateur' sport? Is it because there are no transfers, so some of the players might be your neighbour and ALL are from your county?
Whatever the reason, I hope it never changes. | | | |
| My Euro 2020 Final experience @ Wembley on 18:18 - Jul 16 with 1162 views | Boston |
No fan segregation at any American sport. Yeah, there’s the occasional punch up but it’s not common. | |
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