Amanda Jacks of Football Supporters Federation on BBC Radio 5 now. "An unprecedented number of complaints received about the Police action over this match"
I think i might have discovered why WYP have adopted this stance. Remember this!!! http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/691303.stm They are confusing us with Hull FC's hooligans. I've forwarded this link to Amanda Jacks.
No, don't you remember, all that trouble was nothing to do with the rugby fans, it was all City fans who'd infiltrated the crowd just to cause trouble even though we had a game that day that had a decent crowd itself.
**** the WYP and there dire regulations. But Your not alone in having booked train tickets. Go for the compo. Thankfully however, i feel that the travel restrictions will be lifted by matchday.
This all started (as far as i know) last season when Southampton went to Portsmouth. Hampshire Police made it a condition for both games actually. Its now been used by Lancashire Police for the Blackburn v. Burnley games this season. Now our situation @ Udders. Where will this practice stop and end ? It has to be stopped now.!!!!
Clearly I am not familiar with your law. It is pretty crazy to me as this would be completely illegal in the US. Do you have a version of class action lawsuits in the UK? Here and I am sure there to you have the right to assemble (at the game as well as in Hull or in between). By buying the ticket there is probably fine print somewhere on it or understood that you have to act a certain way. That is infarct a contract between you and Huddersfield. You have a right to attend the game and you have a right to get there anyway you see fit. The pigs have no standing to tell you how you can and can not move about in a free country. Personally I say **** em, do it anyway and sue the **** out of them. It is what I would do and it isnt like half of us probably havent spent a night or two or more in jail. What is that charge going to be? Misdemeanor not taking a bus? It would be well worth it to send a message to them by getting a bunch of cash out of it. Also what you should all do is get your MP to go the game with you all. What are they going to do arrest your MP with you all when you show up and you arnt in a bus? I really think not. There has to be some suck up politician that would take this as a huge opportunity to win your votes and get national press over it.
If you are not famailiar with UK law in relation to football supporters, this may help you. http://www.fsf.org.uk/latest-news/view/watching-football-is-not-a-crime
Disgraceful though any team having to do this is, Burnley to Blackburn must only be about 11 miles, Portsmouth to S'hampton about 20 and Sunderland to Newcastle about 15. We're talking much bigger distances here to Huddersfield. Something should be done about these type of arrangements wherever they are. Also, initially I'm sure the WY police excuse for this was mainly to stop excess alcohol (very weak argument): Superintendent Ged McManus, of West Yorkshire Police, said: âWe have asked for these restrictions to enable us to control the amount of fans attending the match and reduce the level of alcohol consumption, therefore decreasing any risk to the wider public in Huddersfield and reducing the cost of policing such a match for West Yorkshire residents.â On TV last night the emphasis was much more on their claim that "they had received intelligence".... yeh, right, the rules are being made up as the story unfolds.
There are references to precedents but the point about them is that a) there IS a history of confrontation between the fans and b) the clubs are only a few miles apart so there is not the inconvenience.
I get that they think they can and that they have probably passed some stupid law that they are using as the basis for their decision. Dont you have rights as a citizen of the UK? Your wikipedia entry is far to complicated for this early in the morning. Here it would be a violation of the First Amazement to our constitution. It hardly matters what law they pass as it would be overturned since that law is a clear violation of our rights. Are you telling me that you as a citizen of the UK do not have the right to assemble? I know that your right to free speech and right to privacy is not as strong as ours but I would be shocked if you do not have the right to assemble. **** if they can tell you how you have to go to a football match why not pass a law telling you how you have to go to a grocery store, or a movie theater. Why stop there why not tell you what color shoes you have to wear when you leave the house so they can identify who is and who isnt a football fan. The slippery slope arguments have a lot more bearing when they can tell you that you have to ride a bus and they heard you like cattle to the game. I am pissed of for you all. I guarantee if I was there I would end up in jail, **** if I would let them tell me how I could and could not move about. I have been to jail for far more abstract things then a clear violation of my human rights.
As a consequence of historic football violence, there are laws that relate only to the attending of football matches and ignore the rights that citizens have for attending any other event.
It's been going on for years. In 2005 WYP tried it with us for the Leeds game at Elland Road and our protests made them back down. The same season Millwall took it silently and just sent the tickets back. The southern Welsh clubs had it for derby games before that as well, so when were they in the same division prior to 2005? As far as I know we're the only club/supporters to ever force the police to back down on it. That's why this game has been chosen, they're targetting us to set a precedent for all our games over there. It's on TV so they're hoping less of us will kick off about it and will decide instead to just watch on tv as it's easier, and as it's a much lesser sense of rivalry to the Leeds game they think less of us will care in the first place. If we boycott the game, either by formally refusing the tickets or by just not buying them, or if we're just not arsed enough to take them on again then they win, they'll impose it every time and point back to this occassion as saying we should expect it. The club sends the tickets back, they don't trust us to behave, we don't buy the tickets, we obviously only wanted to cause trouble and knew we wouldn't be able to, we accept it without protest, well there was nothing wrong that time so why you complaining now. The only way we win is to make them back down again.
Sure. But your rights are non negotiable. That is why they are your rights. Historic football related violence has nothing to do with it. Your police and those people who passed the laws are infringing upon something that is not given to you by a government but is given to you by birth. It does not matter if violence Will occur or has occurred. They do not have the right to stop you from peaceful assembly. They have the right to arrest those who will commit violence (conspiracy) those who have committed violence and those that are in the act of violence. But they do not have the right to stop you from being in a position TO commit violence. That is a choice that each of you make every day of your life and the fact you are attending a football match has no bearing at all in the choices you make every day and will make on that particular day. I know that your sense of freedom is different than ours. You have CCT cameras and think that is OK, you have laws that restrict freedom of speech and seem to think that is OK. Everyone has the right to self determination and if everyone was fine with your right to assemble also being infringed upon then I guess that would be up to you. But clearly you all are not in agreement that this is acceptable so it simply is not acceptable. The many people in your country that are not football fans do not get to infringe upon the rights of the few that are. By staying silent or agreeing with it those who do not attend matches are infringing upon your rights by silent consent. It is your governments job to protect the rights of the minority against those of the majority that would wish to infringe upon the minorities rights. None of us live in a completely free society but certain things are a line in the sand that can never be crossed.
If a big unofficial lets go to Huddersfield anyway protest was organised they'd have no choice but to discard these restrictions or face potentially having more hull city fans in the town center then can fit in the stadium. I don't know why this isn't being done.
It isn't. A snippet from the Home Office website... "It will not be for the PCC to tell the professionals how to do their job - the legislation continues to protect the operational independence of the police by making it clear that the chief constables retain direction and control of the forces officers and staff. The operations of the police will not be politicised; who is arrested and how investigations work will not become political decisions"
Interesting. So then contacting this guy is a waste of time.... Unless he has no feeling for the public relations aspect of the force's day-to-day existence.