I am not condoning the actions of the vile thug that ran onto the pitch and attacked Kirkland but can anyone imagine that happening at Elland Road? Where were the Police? Where were the stewards? They knew it was a local derby grudge match! They knew Leeds were bringing 5000 supporters! I hope this lad gets banned for life, and has time to reflect on what he has done from the confines of a prison cell, BUT, if Wednesday had been doing their jobs properly, this would not have happened!!!!
No. Thanks to that idiot and others last night heavy handed policing and stewarding is going to return though. Dont look to shift the blame.
Yes, it can happen at LUFC every match. At any stage, anyone can run down and jump the barriers and would get on the pitch and could do it. The invasion v Ipswich was an extreme example. What you are now advocating is that there should be a vigilante army - where all stewards are bouncer-style strongmen - who will happily wade into and fight with opposing fans. But that will make things worse, as the thugs who want a fight will have found their opposition. The police and stewards have improved so much since the 80s and 90s, I don't want a knee jerk reaction to return to those times. I am thankful that this was one person who went over the top. It will be an isolated incident and the result will be that others will think against doing it. The issue is to remove these people from society - preferably by injection as they add no value
Not at all. It was a local derby with a lot of heat. On occassions like these, extra stewards and extra police should be drafted in
Exactly, people on here were saying it was sold out over a week ago, they knew the numbers, they knew there would be tension.
Exactly. Just looked up this yob.... "I AM not a hooligan, I just want to go back to watching Leeds play." Those were the words of Aaron Cawley who was found guilty of breaching his football banning order for the third time. [*=center]​ please log in to view this image Aaron Cawley The 20-year-old from Blenheim Square, Cheltenham, was been banned from every football ground in the country when he was 16 after he was caught at the centre of 200-strong riot at Leeds' Elland Road ground. He was found guilty of breaking his latest two-year ban at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. His ban forbids him from travelling on the national rail network to or from any town or city on the day Leeds play a home or away game in that city. He was charged with breaching the order on November 6 last year when he was found travelling by train to Coventry on the day Leeds were playing in the city. He had previously breached it twice before and so the order had been extended. Prosecutor Elizabeth Thomas said Cawley was found on November 6, carrying a train ticket from Cheltenham to Coventry, a Leeds away match ticket and a membership card in his friend John Dymock's name. Cawley maintained he was going to Birmingham's Bullring shopping centre Cawley said: "My banning order was three months from being overturned. "If I was going to risk it I would have done it years ago. The risk was not worth it. I am not a hooligan. I don't go to cause trouble." His brother Michael said: "A few years ago he did breach the banning order but he has not done since." Defending, Gemma Bond said: "It was never his intention to use the ticket. It was his intention to go to the Bullring and meet his friends after the game." Police were alerted to Cawley's whereabouts when he was discovered being noisy and disruptive in a coffee shop at Cheltenham Spa Railway Station. They found he was the subject of the banning order and officers stopped him at Birmingham New Street station. Finding Cawley guilty, magistrate Jane Saltmarsh said: "You yourself knew a banning order was in operation. You should not have accepted a ticket that said Coventry on it." She ordered a probation report on Cawley to be made before sentencing. He was released on unconditional bail to return to Gloucester Magistrates' Court on Monday for sentence.
[h=2]Do Sheffield Wednesday need to share some of the blame[/h] of course if they had played without a keeper a leeds fan couldnt have smacked him
No - take it on the chin girls... http://www.clarkeonenil.co.uk/10/2012/the-smile-that-shames-leeds-united-for-a-very-long-time/?
Thanks to Guvnor for putting up the ClarkeOneNil, here is the text. For those that still wish to deflect and blame Jones/Kirkland/SWFC/anyone but LUFC, please take note
you have to be seriously messed up to do what that prick did...... thanks to him the whole away section will be tarred with the same brush, and if i remember correctly there were other fans on the pitch aswell when the incident occurred.... but dont bother trying to shift any of the blame onto the police and stewards, because you cant, just accept responsibility.......
Shouldn't need extra police as they would assume that 99% of the fans would know how to behave responsibly. Cant go on blaming just 1 person, this quote from that article sums it up well. There will be extra security at your next away match, as this match shows how irresponsible a small section of your fans are, Leeds fans will be caged in like cattle now thanks to the idiots.
No. Stupid question Elland. The only way they are sure of stopping him would be fencing and no one wants that again, least of all at Hillsborough. The lad is a disgrace who has made Leeds United and football in general look bad. Also the fact that 5000 Leeds fans helped him disappear is disgusting.
Canaries fan in peace. I've only seen the clip on TV this morning and to some extent, the police/stewards are partly to blame - it is almost expected that there will be some sort of trouble though I'm sure no one expected what actually happened. It's not dissimalar to a Liverpool 'fan' running onto the pitch at Carrow Road last year and 'worshippng' Suarez after he scored his hat trick. No attempt was made to apprehend him or get him off the pitch despite the presence of stewards in that area of the ground. I hope the punishment dished out to Leeds fans isn't an overreaction and that the idiot who hit Kirkland is banned for life and has to do community service at 3pm on Saturdays for the next umpteen years!!
I agree with some of what you are saying, it should never have happened, but if there had been 50 or so police officers or stewards behind the goal, it would not have happened. Unfortunately there has been trouble following us about since the 70's, some obviously not Leeds fans. Throw into the mix it was a local derby with 500 plus travelling fans, Sheefield Wednesday did not do its job properly. I am not condoning the little scumbag for one minute
Heavy handed Police often makes situations worse. The fault here lies 100% on the shoulders of someone who can not control themselves, I don't see any benefit in questioning the Police etc. Maybe we need to look at who shielded him afterwards & they will no doubt look to prosecute the person who gave him a ticket.
Has this idiot actually been caught & charged yet? If not, ask around, name & shame. He should never be allowed anywhere near a sports venue again, nevermind ER or any of our future away games
Ok, this ****ing idiot ran on to the pitch and assaulted Kirkland, but he should never have been allowed to get back in the stands, what the **** were the filth and stewards doing?
4999 Leeds fans didn't have a ****ing clue what had just happened, because they were too busy celebrating a goal.
NO, blame the moron and the other Leeds morons who hid him after the incident, SHAME ON YOU LEEDS FANS WHO HID HIM
