Are police plans for Saints vs Pompey match going too far? (From Daily Echo)

News Review RSS Feed

Are police plans for Saints vs Pompey match going too far?

3:17pm Monday 5th December 2011 in News Review

Police fans ahead of a previous Saints v Pompey match

It’s set to be one of the biggest ever football policing operations in Hampshire as police prepare to use the controversial ‘coach bubble’ tactic to get Southampton fans to this month’s clash with rivals Pompey. But is this approach heavy-handed – or a necessity to keep fans safe? Here, both sides have their say.

Supt Rick Burrows explains why he is in favour of the bubble plan

I am a huge football fan.

Growing up in Manchester, you followed one of two teams.

Terrace culture – the passion, the excitement and the banter – was a huge part of my life. It still is.

But I’m also a police officer, indeed the one responsible for the delivery of the policing operation for the two Portsmouth and Southampton derbies this season.

While I still hold football culture dear, I have different priorities – primarily the safety and security of the fans, the stewards, my officers and the wider public.

We all too quickly forget the events of Hillsborough, Bradford and Stairway 13 and too readily deny the link between football violence and tragedy, as seen at Heysel.

I have policed all the derby fixtures between Portsmouth and Southampton in the past 27 years and understand their significance and the passions they generate.

I have also seen the damaged properties and the injuries to innocent members of the public, fans, stewards and my officers caused as a direct result of crowd disorder.

Despite the decline of football disorder from the peak of the 1980s, I do not see with the local derby any lessening of the levels of intent or sheer dislike of the opposing fans, from that small group of people who enjoy and seek disorder – just look at the websites, videos and social network comments to see how hateful some people really are.

Related links

The police and the clubs would not apply the “bubble” unless they genuinely felt that the safety and security of the majority of fans at these fixtures was put at risk.

History demonstrates that these fixtures will have a high likelihood of crowd disorder, specifically targeted at away fans entering and leaving the host city. The coach bubble ensures they can be brought in safely. It’s not an easier option – it’s the safest option. While I would dearly love not to do it, I have seen too much violence, too much damage and too many injuries to not apply what is a simple tactic that has safety at its heart.

Lifelong supporter Steve Grant says why he thinks the bubble treats fans like second-class citizens.

Freedom of movement is my main gripe with the “bubble” restrictions.

I’m a 28-yearold adult who has attended more than 500 Saints games, home and away.

I travel independently to games which allows me the relative freedom of choosing how I travel and how much I pay to do so.

For the Pompey game, my original plan was to get a train direct from Croydon, where I live, to Fratton, and then to walk to the ground from there.

Cheap, simple and effortless.

I don’t wear colours to games, so it would be easy to blend into the crowd walking to Fratton Park.

Instead I’m being forced to travel down on the Saturday (for which I originally had other social plans), and then herded onto a cramped double-decker bus which clearly isn’t costing the club £12 a seat to provide.

All of the likely routes into Portsmouth provide plenty of ambush points, which means a convoy of 50-odd coaches will simply be sitting ducks waiting to be fired upon with whatever the locals can gather.

From my research, the process of “kettling” (a more common title for the bubble) is illegal without the “immediate” threat of widespread public disorder.

Considering we have been given two months’ notice, I fail to see how that in any way applies here.

The police rely on the unlikelihood of anyone having the means or effort to challenge it through a civil court case.

Hopefully someone will end that complacency soon.

Personally I’m tired of football fans being treated like second-class citizens.

Comments(63)

St.Yorkie says...
3:35pm Mon 5 Dec 11

I can see both sides of this argument, however as a law abiding footall fan who generally mixes with visiting fans and drinks in home pubs on awaydays - what is the problem?
I went to Portsmouth Poly, I worked at MSDS & Pall Europe - it's a farce to assume there will be trouble...although last time we went there and lost there was a riot - what does that tell you? I just hope the thousands of the best supporters in the world are herded to SMS in the same way...after all they will be made very welcome!