Manchester United Fans - Victims or Villains?
Looking at last nights “crowd trouble” reminded me of the bad old days. Fans charging the barriers, bottles being thrown and police wading in. To be fair the most damage was caused by the police, and there are those who are blaming them for the severity of the incident.
Maybe so, but we all saw both United and Roma fans charging the barricades and abusing each other, so they both must take some of the blame for what happened in the Stadium.
Manchester United fans and commentators have said that their were provoked, but does that justify charging a barrier and returning to the bad old days? In the UK fans provoke each other every day, but it doesn’t lead to a charge against the opposition (well not inside the stadium anyway). Yes bottles were thrown, fans were attacked outside the stadium, but let UEFA deal with that, not the mob.
It is clear that the police were excessive and at time out of control, and in trying to get the fans back out of the safety zone, some of those who were not involved with the trouble were also caught up in it. But while it is easy to blame the police for this, you have to remember that they were reacting to the charge by the United fans and they were trying to push them back and they are not very likely to stop and consider who is, and who isn’t at fault when their blood is up, and they have very clear and frightened memories of one of their own being killed by the mob.
Some are complaining that the police were not on the Roma side of the barricades. Again, maybe they should have been, but it doesn’t excuse those fans who charged the barricades and gave the police reason to wade in.
So while the police were at fault in many ways, and while some United fans were victims of the circumstances they found themselves in, it is clear that some United fans helped to bring about those circumstances and that is what UEFA will be considering.
Unfortunately for the club, UEFA is unlikely (and perhaps unable) to consider the actions of the police, so can only consider the actions of the fans on both sides of the barriers. And as UEFA were willing to fine the club just because they fans were trying to escape a crush at Lille, then its very likely that they will come down even harder on the club this time.
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2 opinions for Manchester United Fans - Victims or Villains?
Anthony
Apr 5, 2007 at 9:44 am
I am a united fan and i admit our fans are far from perfect. But i have been to Italy on a few occasions now, and i have seen first hand what these police are capable of under no provocation not just in the ground but outside and back in the City, they dont care who they are attacking crushing they dont even need a reason to start it.
Also on the case of you labelling us as villans, where the 16 scousers that got stabbed or the Middlesborough fans who got attacked or the 20 odd stabbed Bayern Munich fans all Villans? i think it is to much of a coincidence that this happens time and time again to call us all villans. It is time UEFA stopped turning a blind eye to all this and stopped these Italian cowards from getting away with what they are doing week in week out. And now we will see how the Greater Manchester police wrap the Roma fans in cotton wool at Old Trafford next week, the difference in the footballing culture between the two countries is immense.
Liverpool
May 14, 2007 at 10:25 pm
Its about time they got it again, its better then chelsea
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