Throw the Book at Arsenal Fans
Am I the only one who seems to think everyone in the country is missing something? At Eastlands on Sunday a steward was struck by missiles thrown by Arsenal’s fans, and left unconscious by the pitch-side for five minutes. A disgraceful act that none of us want to see in football I’m sure you’ll all agree. And surely a more serious incident than the pathetic, infantile pitch invasion at Upton Park last month, where it seems that the large majority of West Ham fans were celebrating.
Yet the damning of each incident compare slightly differently. The Sun calling it ‘A horror pitch invasion.’ Sports minister Gerry Sutcliffe commenting on a “return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s.” Harry Redknapp saying he was “sick to the very pit of his stomach.” Danny Dyer saying, “it’s the best thing to ever happen to resurrect my slowly dying acting career.” I might be lying about the last one but you get the drift.
So what sorts of condemnations were there for the Arsenal fans? None at all. In the mass hysteria of people queuing to attack Emmanuel Adebayor for daring to give a little back to thousands of fully grown adult’s constant abuse and vitriol he had been on the receiving end of both prior to and throughout the game, nobody has mentioned the fact that the Arsenal fans were well out of order.
The bare fact is that Adebayor wasn’t the one who concussed the steward.
Before I go on any further, in no way does this mean I think Adebayor is anything but a repulsive idiot, who fully demonstrates what is wrong with the mercenary attitude of modern footballers. His stamp on Robin Van Persie was disgraceful, and I’m sure he will receive the punishment he deserves. His very public flirting with Barcelona, “There is no player who can say no to Barcelona”, made me sick, and there is nothing wrong with Arsenal’s fans telling exactly what they thought of him. But as the old adage goes, ‘if you can’t take it then don’t give it out.’
The blatant ignorance of the away ends misbehaviour can only be for two reasons in my eyes, both as wrong as each other.
Either our country has accepted that football fans are all mindless idiots, and therefore cannot control their actions in provocation from a fellow idiot. So everybody is willing to let this one go because football fans can’t help it. This view is so patronising and wrong that I really hope it isn’t true.
That leaves the fact that Arsenal were not in Green Street, have Nick Hornby as a celebrity fan and have a reputation of a family club without a real history of football violence. I won’t insult the reader’s intelligence by explaining why treating every team on reputation is wrong.
So unless the FA have a valid reason to treat Arsenal different to every other club, then the same book that was thrown at West Ham should also be lobbed in the direction of The Emirates.
Topics: Arsenal, English Premier League, Fans, Features, Manchester City, West Ham
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throw the book at both of them.
September 15th, 2009 @ 09:39west ham fans fight because they lose and they want to fight for some kind of fans hardest fans title same goes with millwall, this player has come to arsenal, ruined the club harmony, picked on younger players, shown no loyalty whatever and is a complete and utter discrace for football and is scum as far as im concerned, arsenal gave him his career, he did not play for his former club, and to run the length of the pitch to taunt fans with so much heart and pride for arsenal football club, then im sorry but passions will run high and it cannot be avoided, footballers are paid very very very well thats why they deal with critisism but the fans are not, they pay for there ticket to see a great game not to be taunted by the likes of adebeyor scummmmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!!
September 15th, 2009 @ 09:51In no way am I defending either but the difference between the two events comes down to provocation.
The West Ham game suffered due to a combination of insufficient policing and supporters intent on causing trouble. The problems at the Arsenal game were incited by a player.
Yes, the Arsenal fans should be punished but I applaud the FA for attempting to clamp down on the root of these problems – provocation.
September 15th, 2009 @ 10:28Heartily agree that provocation is the main issue. Apparently that’s what the cops said too as reported in the Gaurdian.
September 15th, 2009 @ 11:19What pro atheletes have to learn to deal with is the fact that they actualy do have to take the high road. Hey get paid the big bucks and if a fan who pays for a seat is an a-hole, well, too bad, they paid to he there. The players are paid to be there.
Suck it up millionaire idiots. You won the genetic football talent lottery so just play the game, make craploads of dough, shut the hell up, and celebrate with your own fans.
Well quite, JJ. The treatment of this incident has nothing to do with nick hornby and everything to do with immense provocation by an idiotic player. Are you *that* out of touch? It’s the public relations onslaught by man city and the player that is quite the disgrace. Context, in this case, is all. If he’d have quietly celebrated his goal and the incident had still have happened, then there’d be a different view espoused, but the fact is he didn’t. How many excuses are we prepared to give these overpaid, out of touch players? I mean, even scudamore has condemned the player’s behaviour.
September 15th, 2009 @ 11:21What do you mean ‘no real history of football violence’… The Herd, Green Street 1982, Deansgate etc etc etc. Eastlands was like a Buckingham Palace garden party compared to the 70s/80s! ;>)
September 15th, 2009 @ 11:30Good stand point, Sam. I do think it was a little ridiculous Adebayour’s celebrating casued so much controversy when the injured stewart was barely even mentioned.
September 15th, 2009 @ 11:31Wibble wobble …..
any thoughts on Van Pussies expletive laden ranting right in front of the City fans just after he scored ???
Off the pitch I might add.
Pause
Tumbleweed blowing down street
Nope….. thought not !!
September 15th, 2009 @ 11:46Here here.
I was at the match on Saturday, as a neutral I must add, sat near the Arsenal fans. There were bottles and missiles thrown at Manchester City fans from the Arenal fans way before Adebayor ridiculous celebration.
A bit of banter between rivals is one thing but crowd surges and missile throwing is what I remember of top flight football growing up in the 1980s.
September 15th, 2009 @ 12:10Cheers for the comments, I don’t really know where to start here. Jim Jagger, I understand what your saying but doesn’t provocation work both ways?
Harry Squirrels, although it would be nice if players could just shut up and all act like saints I think we sometimes forgety that they’re just human, and they aren’t not paid hundreds of thousands of pounds for their talents in diplomacy but for their footballing talents. I also think that your very close to view the football fans are all idiots, therfore they shouldn’t have to control themselves in face of provocation.
And Wibble Wobble, am I out of touch for suggesting that a footballer may just have some emotions and react (in a much milder way) like any normal person would do if they encountered that abuse walking down the street?
September 15th, 2009 @ 12:57The title should be “Throw the pies at the arsenal fans”
September 15th, 2009 @ 16:30Sam, I think you’ve hit the nail on the head!
As an Arsenal fan I was disgusted with the way Adebayor was playing. The Stamp on Van Persie was awful and there was a stamp on Cesc’s ankle which was horrible too. It’s amazing a man can be so ungrateful to a club that made him. The man has no class and I’m happy he has left Arsenal.
I don’t think the celebration was wrong. He got booed, he got abused and he scored.
When you score you gain the right to brag and he did just that. My fellow supporters should have not reacted. When you wind up somebody always expect it back, its called banter. Instead they acted like little mindless twits and eventually hurt a steward.
Me, along with a million other supporters, are always moaning about clubs and the FA taking the edge out of supporters and the atmosphere at grounds with petty rules, but its people like those at the eastlands that are really responsible. I wish football fans could grow up and support their team and have banter with other supporters without wanting to kill each other. Isn’t that why become football fans and not UFC fans, for the banter and the buzz from being part of a club.
So once again, I don’t believe Ade’s celebration should be an issue. I remember the days Thierry Henry used to score and run around with his finger on his lips to shut the opposition fans up. It makes the fans feel part of the game, which is why we go to games, otherwise you could just sit in a pub and watch it.
September 16th, 2009 @ 11:06Whats wrong is wrong and one should not shy away from the responsibility. As as Arsenal fan I am too sad to see such a reaction from fellow fans.
But there is anger within the fans. Because we have been jeered for years now. People love to jeer arsenal fans. (number of articles on Edurado and the incidents in Manchester City match are proof enough) So no we cannot take it neither can any other fan. So stop jeering.
But when an ex-player jeer, it just went out of control.
P.S. who ever throwed the missle had a very bad aim.
September 16th, 2009 @ 11:07P.P.S. for more proof see the forums and no of replies that are in negative to this post. It prove people love to hate Arsenal and its fans.
van persie scores runs over to man city fans and yells “F**K you all”
September 16th, 2009 @ 12:29Bellwaldron – sorry, had better things to do. No, no comment on that as I wasn’t aware, but if the behaviour was of a similar type to Adebayor’s, then he should be treated similarly. TBH, most of the time I couldn’t give two figs about the overpriced, overpaid crud in the top level of English football, particularly where overspending, competition distorting, financially flush newbies are concerned, but if a minority of people commenting on this case are just going to resort to the default ‘it’s the fans’ fault’ then I’m quite happy to stick my oar in and defend them. If he gets paid as much as is reported – £180k a week – then he should employ a very expensive cognitive behavioural therapist to help him deal with taunting. Precious little baby.
September 16th, 2009 @ 13:29your piece was out of line. adebayo’s celebration was inciting enough to cause a riot. a moment of madness running the length of a football pitch to celebrate in front of visiting fans!! absolutely crazy.
September 16th, 2009 @ 13:38As an Arsenal season ticket holder, I would of love to have seen Adebayor use half the energy he used to sprint the length of the pitch last season. Football fans are not idiots (well not all!) and could see as clear as day that Adebayor was on a go slow for the whole of the 08/09 season. Funny what a £100,000 a week pay rise can do for your energy levels!
September 16th, 2009 @ 17:42The guy was out for a few seconds and sat on the sidelines for 5 min, not unconscious for 5 min… If you are going to ridicule people you should make sure you don’t have to exaggerate facts to make them look bad.
Yes throwing bottles and such onto the field is a bad idea that should be punished, but don’t try to compare this to pitch invasion. Where were you when US forward Landon Donovan got hit by missiles thrown by Mexico fans at Azteca Stadium?
September 16th, 2009 @ 19:21Me, along with a million other supporters, are always moaning about clubs and the FA taking the edge out of supporters and the atmosphere at grounds with petty rules, but its people like those at the eastlands that are really responsible.
That’s spot on Cem. The problem is that it just means we get more and more petty rules to counter things like this which in turn kill the atmosphere. Have a read of this if you’re of that opinion.
http://www.boyfrombrazil.co.uk/2009/09/where-the-blame-lies-as-city-supporters-are-warned-about-flying-footballs-and-arsenal-fans-throw-objects-at-their-former-player/
Wibble Wobble, I agree with you on your opinions on top-flight football and we can only hope that the bubble eventually bursts and we get some sort of fairness in football. (But that’s a story for another day) The problem is that this sort of thing affects all of us watching football at every level. And I still don’t understand why you think there should be any sort of correlation between how much someone gets paid and how they behave!
Nick, I apologise if I was wrong but I got my information from this article- http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2009/sep/13/emmanuel-adebayor-manchester-city-arsenal. Maybe it’s just lazy research on my part. And to be honest I don’t keep up with world football enough to even have known about that. But having just read about it, it doesn’t look particularly pretty, especially if the referees the one the most intimidated.
September 16th, 2009 @ 23:42Sam, thanks for the that link. It was a great article with valid points but a very scary one too if you’re a football fan. While I wrote my section above yesterday I had a thought that one day the supporters would watch games behind some sort of plastic screen. The article you suggested also refered to that same thought which is a very scary. It pains me to want bans on my own supporters (arsenal), but I really do hope something is done about violent fans, but I know somehow the FA will go overboard and punish the fans who wouldn’t dream of acting like that too. Last season 9 Spurs fans were identified and ban from football for chant sexual abuse at Sol Campbell, so I think these fans should get the same treatment.
About the state of rules and regulations, I cannot believe that “footballs may be kicked into the crowd during warm up” was announced before a game. Who are these people trying to protect? What kind of people are going to football games these days? My uncle took me to my first football game when we lived in Turkey. I was 4 years old in 1989, and we supported Galatasaray. You may or may not know but Ali Samiyen Stadium (Glaatasaray’s ground) is one of the most hostile football grounds in europe hence the ground’s slogan ‘Welcome to Hell’. I’m pretty sure me being hit by a football was the least of my uncles worries. If I was lucky enough to be it by a ball it would have added to the excitement. As I was so young, I don’t remember the game but I do remember some sort of Buzz from 40,000 fans creating an amazing atmosphere which is probably why I love going to football games today.
It looks like more and more petty rules are going to be introduced and totally kill traditional football ground atmospheres which is a sorry thought and one that worries me. There should be rules to protect real football fans who love going to games to support their team and feel part of the atmosphere. My suggestions are below.
September 17th, 2009 @ 10:281.if you are worried about a ball being kicked in your face DO NOT go to a game, go to the pub.
2.if your ears cannot take foul language DO NOT go to a game, go to the pub.
3. if you can’t be bothered to sing for your team DO NOT go to the game…… you get my drift.
All the ‘provocation’ and ‘Ade inciting a riot’ comments are such rubbish. So he sprinted 90 yards down the field to make a point, so what? It’s not big, it’s not clever, but it’s also not that big a deal. To use that as an excuse for the way (some of) the Arsenal fans behaved, to try and make that somehow seem justified is deflecting people’s own responsibilities. Involuntarily, you are suggesting the first reason Sam mentioned in his article, the one he called “so patronising and wrong that I really hope it isn’t true”, is in fact correct after all.
September 17th, 2009 @ 13:01